-Well, results from last night's wild midterm elections
are still rolling in
and several races are still too close to call,
including control of both the House and Senate,
so, we have to be patient.
As of right now, our decision desk here at "Late Night"
is using very cautious language
to describe the state of the race this way.
"With 87% of precincts reporting,
we can now project the...
[ Laughter ]
I forgot to mention our election guy is
from New Jersey, like Dr. Oz. [ Laughter ]
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
♪♪ [ Cheering and applause ]
Oh, man! Where to begin, you guys?
I turned my phone off last night at 7:00 pm and went to bed.
Didn't even check the results
until I dropped my kids off at school,
so, I am well-rested and feeling good.
Now, you might say, "Seth,
you knew you'd have to address the election today.
How could you just tune out like that?"
It's easy. I made my staff pull an all-nighter.
[ Laughter ] And, it should be noted,
they look like [bleep] today.
[ Laughter ] Point is, I tuned out because,
as I'm sure you all heard, going into this election,
pundits, especially on the right,
but across the media spectrum, were certain the Democrats
were going to get absolutely annihilated.
-Fifteen days to the midterms
and there's more and more signs of a red wave.
-I really believe it's going to be
a strong red wave for the Republicans.
-It's going to be a big red wave.
-Do you think the red wave is coming?
I mean, like "Winter is coming," it's red wave coming?
-You're of the mind-set
it's red wave. -Absolutely.
-I think that this is going to be a big red wave.
-It'll be a huge red wave
and it'll be a big blue wipeout.
-They are very, very concerned about this,
you know, red riptide, if not a red wave,
if not a red tsunami.
-I see, not a red wave.
I see a red tsunami.
-We're not just going to see a red wave.
We're going to see a red tsunami.
[ Laughter ] -Now, that last one was a bit of a giveaway
because, if there was truly a tsunami coming,
we all know Ted Cruz would've been
on the first flight to Cancun.
[ Laughter and applause ]
[ As Cruz ] Red waves are great,
but I prefer the blue waves
outside the Cancun Ritz Carlton.
[ Laughter ] I'll bring you back a conk fritter.
Stay warm, everybody.
Also, I did appreciate the "Game of Thrones" reference.
-Do you think the red wave is coming?
I mean, like "Winter is coming," it's red wave coming?
[ Laughter ] -I would say it was less like a red wave
and more like a Red Wedding.
[ Laughter ] -The Republicans were the Starks
and Donald Trump was a dragon
who burned his whole [bleep] party to a crisp.
[ Laughter ] And don't just take my word for it.
Listen to Republicans
and right-wing pundits themselves,
who spent the last 24 hours wringing their hands,
wondering where it all went wrong.
-I thought the political conditions were such
that would suggest a red wave.
The polling said otherwise
and I was skeptical of the polling.
The polling's held up pretty well tonight.
-The big red wave that was predicted
has not happened yet.
-There wasn't a red wave.
[ Laughter ] That is a searing indictment
of the Republican Party.
That is a searing indictment of the message
that we have been sending to the voters.
The Republican Party needs to do a really deep introspection,
look in the mirror right now
because this is an absolute disaster.
-Definitely not a Republican wave,
that's for darn sure.
-[ As Graham ] This is definitely not
a Republican wave.
It was more like the wave my Meemaw makes
when she jumps in the bathtub with me.
[ Laughter ] She barely moves the water
because she's about 84 pounds soaking wet.
Meemaw, I'm a grown man!
[ Laughter ]
I don't take baths with you anymore, Meemaw!
[ Laughter ]
Now, on one hand,
there's still much to be decided.
Control of both houses of Congress
is, essentially, a toss-up right now
and Republicans could still end up winning
both the House and the Senate, so, it's wise to be cautious.
But on the other hand, despite strong political head winds,
including the fact that, historically,
the party in power tends to get swamped in the midterms,
the race for both the House and Senate
is, essentially, a toss-up as of this taping,
which is crazy.
Democrats actually flipped some long-held
Republican House seats in states like Ohio,
while also winning back governorships
in states like Maryland and Massachusetts;
Americans voted to protect abortion rights
in several states, through ballot initiatives,
including in Kentucky;
expanded Medicaid in South Dakota;
guaranteed a right to unionize in Illinois;
and legalized marijuana in Missouri.
At this point, I wouldn't be shocked
if we found out voters in Kansas passed a ballot initiative to...
[ Laughter and applause ]
Which they should, because that would be fun as hell!
[ Laughter ]
By far, the most dramatic,
and my favorite, example of how poorly things went
for Republicans last night is a shocking development
in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District,
where Lauren Boebert is, as of this taping,
trailing her Democratic opponent
in a race absolutely no one thought would be competitive.
-In Colorado, a hardline pro-Trump Republican
on the ropes.
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert
behind by a few thousand votes right now.
-This is Lauren Boebert's seat here.
Not even a seat that we considered
to be competitive, leading into Election Day.
Lauren Boebert is trailing by about 3,500 votes.
Lauren Boebert is
an election denying, very conservative Republican.
Democrats would love to unseat her.
I'm not sure they thought they had a chance to.
They have a chance.
-I'm not saying I was excited last night
when I saw those results, but I did rush
into my kids' room at 3:00 am to shake them and scream,
"Wake up! Lauren Boebert is losing!"
[ Laughter ] And they know who she is
because I tell them, if they don't eat their vegetables,
they'll get a visit from...
[ Laughter and applause ]
By the way, if you're confusing her with Sarah Palin,
who's also running for Congress this year in Alaska,
don't worry -- they're both losing,
so you don't even need to give them straight.
[ Laughter ] By far, the biggest prize
of the night was in Pennsylvania,
where both the governorship and the Senate seat,
which is held by a retiring Republican,
were seen as two of the most closely watched races
when election season began.
Democratic candidate for governor Josh Shapiro
ran away with it and crushed
his pro-Trump election denier opponent, Doug Mastriano.
But the even bigger victory for Democrats,
and, possibly, the biggest disappointment in the night
for Republicans, was the Senate race.
-Fox News can project
that Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman
will win the Pennsylvania Senate race over Dr. Mehmet Oz.
This is a huge win for the Democrats.
-Wow! I can't believe a candidate
with no government experience, who lives in New Jersey
and reportedly killed over 300 dogs
[ Laughter ] lost a race for Senate in Pennsylvania.
[ Laughter ] The only way Oz could've been
a worse candidate in Pennsylvania was
if he was seen in a Devils jersey,
fighting with Gritty, screaming,
"7-Eleven is better than Wawa and Sheetz."
[ Laughter ]
Oz's closing argument included, among other things,
posting an incredibly bizarre photo of himself
[ Laughter ] standing under a sign
displaying gas prices on the side of the road,
like he was looking to sell some of his off-brand diet pills
and urging people, this past Saturday,
"to contact 10 other potential supporters,"
saying, "Do it before the Steelers game,"
despite the fact that there was no Steelers game on Sunday.
[ Laughter ] The team had a bye week
and any Pittsburgher worth their salt would tell you
that not knowing the Steelers had a bye week
[ Changes accent ] is a total jagoff move.
[ Laughter ]
But I'm being hard on him.
I do think Oz knows Pittsburgh well,
based on this clip he put out, where he, very naturally,
mentioned what the city is known for.
-I love, love being in Pittsburgh.
Now, people think I come here for the food,
and I do like beer and sandwiches,
but it's the food for thought
that I really came to Pittsburgh for.
-Okay, Russian spy from the '50s.
[ Laughter ]
[ Slavic accent ] Hello, local barkeep.
I'm here for a beer, and sandwiches.
[ Laughter and applause ] Also, is true there is
nuke-ular power plant in town?
[ Laughter ] How would curious visitor
take tour to see up close?
[ Laughter ]
Part of the reason Fetterman's win was such a big deal was
because many in the Republican bubble
clearly thought it was impossible.
Some right-wing pundits straight-up said, in advance,
there was no way it could happen and that it would be ridiculous
to wake up on Wednesday to a Fetterman victory.
-It's not about the person.
It's about the party.
It's not about the individual.
It's about the group.
And, to prove it, they can even run
mentally defective candidates who can barely speak
and not only expect them to [ Raising voice ] "win,"
but expect you to accept the outcome,
no matter how transparently absurd it is.
On November 9th, they'll be telling you
that John Fetterman got 81 million votes in Pennsylvania
and they'll threaten to put you in jail,
if you don't believe it.
Why wouldn't they do that?
It worked with Joe Biden.
-[ As Carlson ] Why wouldn't they do that?
Why wouldn't they tell you John Fetterman won
and threaten to put you in jail, if you don't believe it?
When you're in jail, why wouldn't they put you
on laundry duty? And, when you tell them
you've never done your own laundry before
and don't know how it works,
why wouldn't the other inmates laugh at you?
And when you tell them to stop laughing,
because it's not funny, why wouldn't they put you
[ Laughter ] in the dryer, where you would get tossed around --
with a load of their underpants, I should add -- for 45 minutes?
Why wouldn't they do that?
[ Laughter ] Because they did it to me.
[ Laughter ]
In high school.
[ Laughter ]
And again in college.
[ Laughter ]
I bet, when Tucker woke up this morning
and saw the results, he made that face
he always makes, like he buzzed in on "Jeopardy!"
and forgot what he was going to say.
[ Laughter and applause ]
And yet, Fetterman very much did win,
as Tucker's own network explained this morning.
-When it comes to the state of Pennsylvania,
why did Dr. Oz lose?
Well, it looks like, according to the exit polling,
it's because Fetterman won!
-Yeah!
[ Laughter and applause ]
[ Cheering ] That is,
historically, how it works.
[ Laughter ]
When one candidate loses, the other wins.
Although, in fairness, there are probably Republicans
who need that explained to them.
[ As Walker ] Whoa! If Warnock loses, I win?
Ohhhhh, that is not a good idea.
Now, again, there are many races that have yet to be called
and, still, a wide range of possibility.
Current projections, as of this taping,
range anywhere from Democrats
holding both the House and Senate
to razor-thin majorities for Republicans.
But, from what we already know, this election went much better
than Joe Biden could've possibly expected,
given the stiff political head winds he was facing
and history, because incumbent parties
almost always lose tons of seats in the midterms.
And, yet, Biden managed to outperform
those expectations, despite constant second-guessing,
even from his fellow Democrats, about his strategy.
-It's a better night than expected for the Democrats.
You know, what are you hearing from the White House?
-A big change of mood from the White House
in the past 24 hours.
They feel excitement, mixed with some validation,
because they managed, they think,
to buck a historic trend --
they didn't lose dozens of seats,
the way previous presidents have.
-So, the lesson is don't bet against Joe Biden.
-Don't bet against Biden. -Politically,
the guy always finds a way, it seems.
-That's right -- whatever you think of him,
never bet against an old man
who's spent more time in Scranton dive bars
than most people have at their actual jobs.
[ Laughter ] Joe Biden is
the Mike Ehrmantraut of American politics.
[ Laughter ] You think you can jump him on a dark street
and take his wallet and, the next thing you know,
you're rolling on the ground, yelling,
"My arm! You broke my arm!" [ Laughter ]
[ As Mike ] Here's what we're going to do now.
[ Laughter ]
[ Fresh laughter ]
Finally, finally, found it, right at the last minute.
[ Laughter ] You know, we have a tendency
to think of Biden as a doddering old man
because, you know, he's an old man who sometimes dotters,
[ Laughter ] but after last night's results,
I'm starting to think he might actually be
the greatest political mastermind of our generation.
Maybe the whole Mr. Magoo thing is a put-on.
You know how he's always putting his head in his hands
while answering questions
or getting stuck onstage like a motion center Santa Claus
[ Laughter ] that runs out of batteries.
Maybe it's all an act to disguise the fact
that he's actually a Machiavellian genius
who's constantly doing electoral math in his head.
While the rest of us are having fun,
laughing at his gaffes, he's sitting there, saying --
[ As Biden ] Laugh it up, mother[bleep]!
[ Laughter ] I'm about to have the best midterm result
for a sitting president in two decades.
Biden's performance last night was certainly
much better than Donald Trump's,
who's getting all the blame from his party
for backing a bunch of weirdos, clowns, and bozos
[ Laughter ] who got creamed in their races.
Last night was, if nothing else,
clearly a strong repudiation of Trumpism from voters
and that's according to almost everyone,
except, of course -- brace yourselves --
Trump himself.
[ Laughter ] -You've endorsed more
than 330 candidates
this election cycle.
Tonight, win or lose, the results for Republicans,
how much of that will be because of Donald Trump?
-Well, I think, if they win, I should get all the credit;
[ Laughter ] and, if they lose,
I should not be blamed at all, okay?
[ Laughter and applause ]
-I don't think that's how it works,
although I'm sure it's not the first time he's tried.
[ As Trump ] I want to bet $100 on the Jets,
but here's the thing -- if they win, you pay me.
If they lose, I get my money back.
[ Laughter ]
I mean, of course, that's what Trump would say.
That's how he's operated his whole life.
He wants credit for everything and blame for nothing.
He's the definition of a "Heads, I win;
tails, you lose" kind of guy,
except, he still somehow manages to lose.
[ As Trump ] Heads, I win; tails, you lose.
And now let's flip the coin.
And it has been snatched out of the air by the IRS.
[ Laughter and applause ]
I owe them $1 billion in back taxes
and they're taking it one quarter at a time.
[ Laughter ]
So, Democrats won a bunch of key races last night,
despite dire predictions of a red wave that fizzled out.
Now, control of both the House and the Senate is,
as of this taping, still up for grabs,
which is, in itself,
a wild outcome and a huge disaster
for Republicans, among many other things.
We learned last night that people are just tired
of Donald Trump's clown car of bozos and dip[bleep].
They want to protect democracy.
They want to protect reproductive rights.
They want competent governance
and they want to vote for candidates in one election
who aren't going to ignore their votes in the next one.
They just want to go about their lives
like ordinary Americans and enjoy their...
-Beer and sandwiches.
[ Laughter, cheering, and applause ]
-This has been "A Closer Look."
♪♪