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Television|Late Night Pans Trump’s Pearl Harbor Joke
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/arts/television/late-night-trump-pearl-harbor.html
Late Night ROUNDUP
“Let me tell you: There is no doubt in my mind that everything he knows about Pearl Harbor begins and ends with a movie starring Ben Affleck,” Jimmy Kimmel said.
March 20, 2026, 2:18 a.m. ET
Welcome to Late Night Roundup, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.
The Day That Shall Forever Live in Infamy
The prime minister of Japan was visiting the White House on Thursday when a reporter asked President Trump why he hadn’t alerted Japan and other allies ahead of the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran.
“Because we wanted surprise,” Trump replied. “Who knows better about surprise than Japan, OK? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK? Right?”
Jimmy Kimmel said that Americans “often cringe when real leaders come to visit ours, but today I think we hit a new level of discomfort.”
“I guess we should be grateful he didn’t do an accent?” — JIMMY KIMMEL
“Do you mean the movie ‘Pearl Harbor?’ Because Japan didn’t do that — we did that to ourselves.” — SETH MEYERS
“Let me tell you: There’s no doubt in my mind that everything he knows about Pearl Harbor begins and ends with a movie starring Ben Affleck.” — JIMMY KIMMEL
“I haven’t seen an American bomb in front of Japan that badly since — you get the idea.” — JORDAN KLEPPER
“During the same press conference, President Trump praised the Japanese prime minister’s understanding of English and added, ‘I haven’t picked up your language.’ Oh, nobody thought you had picked up Japanese. You already have your hands full with English.” — SETH MEYERS
The Punchiest Punchlines (March Madness Edition)
“The N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament started today. Thirty-two teams played today, 32 play tomorrow. They’ll whittle that down to 16 and then eight, then the final four, and then the finals, and the winner goes to the White House to hand their trophy over to President Trump.” — JIMMY KIMMEL
“In the tournament, the teams go from 64 to 32, to 16 to eight to four. Or as it’s also known, Trump’s approval rating.” — JIMMY FALLON
The Bits Worth Watching
“The Pitt” star Shawn Hatosy shared his struggle with nailing his hit show’s medical jargon on Thursday’s “Late Night.”
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English (US)