Late-night hosts took aim at the “lazy scaremongering” that has led to a string of attempted attacks on Democratic figures and news sources.

Stephen Colbert

On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert also spoke about the explosive devices targeting the left, including one that was hand-delivered to George Soros. “Well that was thoughtful,” he said. “So few murderous maniacs add the personal touch.”

CNN was also targeted and reporters had to continue covering the story even as they became part of it. “It’s like when the New York Times was reporting on the Titanic and their office hit an iceberg,” he joked.

Colbert criticised Trump for not tweeting his own response but instead just sharing Mike Pence’s statement. “This is the one time you can’t think of your own tweet?” he said.

In character as Trump he then said: “Both sides must come together with respect, be they Republicans or crooked, lying Soros-bought Dems working for the enemy of the people CNN, the Caravan News Network.”

Samantha Bee

On Full Frontal, Samantha Bee spoke about Donald Trump’s response to the explosive devices sent to the Obamas, Clintons and CNN. “It’s rare to hear someone on the right talk about their favourite adversaries as if they’re people,” she said.

She continued: “It would be great if the president and his cronies talked about Democrats and the press with a shred of humanity even on days when their lives weren’t threatened. As much as I want to flee to the bottom of the ocean on days like this, there are still people desperate to reach this country.”

Bee then moved on to the caravan of roughly 7,000 people fleeing conflict and heading to the United States. “This is a genuine humanitarian crisis,” she said.

But it’s not been seen as such by many and has “turned Fox News and their subsidiary President Trump into overstimulated children and they are having a sugar rush of hate”.

She criticised the “lazy scaremongering” that has led Fox News to claim that Isis members could be hidden in the crowd. “You might as well claim the Babadook is in the caravan as well,” she joked.

There have also been claims that the Democrats have been helping the caravan. “It’s stupid to think the Democrats could fund anything this well-organised,” she said before characterising the Republicans as a party that “wets its pants with terror over every brown baby”.

Seth Meyers

On Late Night with Seth Meyers, the host also criticised Trump for his response. “Hey man, you’re the president, you’re supposed to say something to calm people down,” he said. “You can’t just add your name to someone else’s statement like you’re signing a get well soon card for a co-worker.”

He then played old footage of Mitch McConnell being confronted at a restaurant. “The craziest thing about that video is watching Mitch McConnell eat at a restaurant,” he said. “I just assumed his neck pouch was filled with nuts he stored for the winter.”

Meyers moved on to the caravan and the attempts by Trump to demonise those involved. “Trump has been lying about the caravan to scare people,” he said.

He continued: “Trump obviously doesn’t care if people know that he’s lying. All he’s trying to do is scare the shit out of as many people as he possibly can.”

He then referenced an interview with a 75-year-old woman in Minnesota who had fallen for Trump’s rhetoric. “You know in the back of those Maga hats there’s a thing where you can loosen them and restore the blood flow,” he said.

Meyers continued: “The president’s words matter, whether it’s his lies on immigration or his attacks on the media.”