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Late-night comedians aren’t Biden their tongues.

“The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon joked about Joe Biden possibly resigning amid the US president’s plummeting approval ratings during the opening monologue of his Monday night episode.

“I read that Dr. Fauci plans to retire by the end of President Biden’s term,” said Fallon, 47, before quipping: “Yep, then everyone turned to Biden like, ‘Is there anything you’d like to announce too?'” 


  “The Tonight Show” host joked about Joe Biden possibly resigning amid the US president’s plummeting approval ratings. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images “The Tonight Show” host joked about Joe Biden possibly resigning amid the US president’s plummeting approval ratings. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

The joke coincides with a recent poll that found nearly two-thirds of Democratic voters (64%) want the party to pick a different candidate for the 2024 presidential race, while more than three-quarters of Americans (77%) say the country is moving in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, 13% say that the US is on the right track, the fewest since the depths of the Great Recession more than a decade ago.

Nonetheless, Biden, who is the nation’s oldest-ever president at 79, has repeatedly said he intends to run for reelection and even snapped at a reporter last week for suggesting that his party wants him out after just one term.


  “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon during opening monologue on Tuesday. NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon during opening monologue on Tuesday. NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Elsewhere in his monologue, Fallon lampooned the Commander in Chief’s controversial fist bump greeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during last week’s meeting.

“Biden said that wasn’t a fist bump, that was me trying to punch him as hard as I could,” the comic quipped, lampooning Biden’s advanced age. He analogized the gesture to “greeting [Russian President Vladimir] Putin with a chest bump and a bro hug.”

The US had previously accused the Arabian leader of ordering the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi — allegations the crown prince has reportedly denied.


  Fallon and Biden during the White House Easter Egg Roll in April 2022. The Washington Post via Getty Images Fallon and Biden during the White House Easter Egg Roll in April 2022. The Washington Post via Getty Images

  Biden and Fallon at the TIME 100 Gala at Lincoln Center in 2013. Kevin Mazur Biden and Fallon at the TIME 100 Gala at Lincoln Center in 2013. Kevin Mazur

Fallon isn’t the first late-night host to take potshots at Biden’s seemingly chummy handshake. Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert also criticized the fist bump with the latter host quipping:

“It was important that Biden put a lot of thought into how he would greet MBS… Boom go the ethics.” 

The fist bump has been seen as one of many of Biden’s perceived gaffes in recent months, with the most recent coming after he said he had cancer during a Wednesday address. The White House press office clarified that Biden was referring to skin cancer treatment that he had before taking office last year.

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