Jimmy Fallon and his late-night colleagues have been sharing only enthusiasm and laughter about former president Donald Trump’s potential indictment over the last week – which made reports of a delay in said indictment a particularly tough pill for the “Tonight Show” host to swallow on Wednesday.
“Now listen to this,” Fallon said in his monologue discussing the matter. “I read that the grand jury is weighing charges against former president Trump over hush payments made to Stormy Daniels is taking the next month off.”
Citing a CNBC story published Wednesday, which itself cited multiple anonymous reports, Fallon looked deflated. The news earned a chorus of boos from his in-studio audience.
“What!” Fallon continued. He then took the opportunity to joke about another political presence that’s had a habit of going on ill-timed vacations: Ted Cruz. “Even Ted Cruz was like, ‘You’re going on vacation now?!”
But the real clincher came when Fallon set his sights on the former first lady, Trump’s wife, Melania Trump. Echoing a joke made last week by James Corden, who said that Melania is praying her husband isn’t put on house arrest, Fallon teased that an indictment might actually give her something to celebrate – and she’s been planning a party for the occasion.
“Yup, a potential indictment is at least a month away,” Fallon said. “Melania was like, ‘Well, cancel the party.’”
Reports of a delay in Trump’s ongoing hush-money payment investigation broke Wednesday, stating that the New York grand jury is not expected to hear evidence for the next month, pushing a potential indictment to at least late April. The news comes 10 days after the former president declared on Truth Social that he was going to be arrested over his hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels – a prediction that has not come to pass (but one that’s gotten plenty of attention).
Trump most recently came under fire for stating his indictment would cause “potential death and destruction” and for posting threatening imagery about Manhattan DA Alvin Brigg, who’s overseeing the investigation.
Watch Fallon’s full “Tonight Show” monologue in the video above.
