Seth Meyers takes credit for Donald Trump’s election on The Tonight Show
By Hector Cruz
Seth Meyers ribs Jimmy Fallon over Trump’s controversial Tonight Show visit, and blames his own WHCD speech for getting the businessman to run for president.
Seth Meyers visited his late-night lead-in Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday’s The Tonight Show, during which the SNL alums reminisced about their time interacting with Donald Trump the first time he hosted the NBC sketch show in 2004. The pair appeared in a skit with the president where Meyers played a character that didn’t get along with his dad, played by Trump, which the Late Night host said foreshadowed their rivalry years later.
“Yeah, Trump and I… he doesn’t love me,” Meyers admitted.
The bad blood stems from Meyers roasting of the former Apprentice host when he emceed the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2011, which got a “stone-faced” reaction from Trump sitting in the audience.
“He’s not a guy that likes a good zinger at his expense,” Meyers said.
After complimenting Meyers on his interview with Kellyanne Conway, Fallon mentioned Trump’s most recent Tonight Show visit, which received backlash from people like Samantha Bee for his softball questioning and the tussling of his hair, which critics argued help normalize the polarizing politician.
“I was insulted by the reaction,” Meyers responded. “Because I know after that happened, you took some heat, and some people said you are the reason he won. And I’m so insulted by that because I’m the reason he won.”
The host cited reports that Trump decided to run for president the night of the WHCD where he was publicly mocked by Meyers and President Obama, arguing that he “kicked the hornet’s nest.”
Meyers added: “It’s not the outcome I wanted, but it’s history. I got a man elected president. I want my points.”
Watch the clip below, with talk of Trump beginning around the 4:30 mark:
During the interview, Meyers and Fallon also bonded over being new fathers and having sketches bomb on their respective late-night shows. Fallon ended the Tonight Show episode by escorting Meyers to his Late Night set in the same building, as the duo chomped on subs and pizza.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers air weeknights starting at 11:35 p.m. on NBC.