Hillary Clinton talks Trump, gun control with Seth Meyers

Hillary Clinton appeared on Thursday’s edition of Late Night with Seth Meyers in an interview that covered everything from Donald Trump, gun control and whether Bill Clinton would make a good first gentleman.

Meyers first asked the presumptive Democratic nominee about the rigors of campaigning, which she admitted was demanding, but had its moments. Talk then turned to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and his recent call on a ban of all Muslims entering the country.

“You know, I have to say Seth…I no longer think he’s funny,” Clinton began. “I think for weeks you, and everybody else, were just bringing folks to hysterical laughter, but now he has gone way over the line. What he’s saying now isn’t just shameful and wrong, it’s dangerous.” She went on to describe Trump as an “equal opportunity offender who has gone after all kinds of folks.”

Clinton then reiterated the dangerousness of Trump’s ban on all Muslims, as it, “plays right into the hands of terrorists” by giving them a great propaganda tool to recruit more people from the West to their cause. Clinton concluded the Trump-centered portion of the interview by calling on all Republicans to stand up to him by announcing that he’s gone too far, that it’s not the country we are, and that we won’t tolerate it.

Meyers then segued into a conversation about gun control, which as with the conversation regarding radical Islam, was spurred by the recent San Bernadino shootings. “Gun control is a big part of your campaign, but how you can you convince people now that gun control — given how many times it’s failed — that it’s anything more than a fantasy?” he asked. Clinton maintained that the majority of Americans, including the majority of gun owners, support common sense measures such as universal background checks and closing the gun show loopholes. She also pointed out that the most recent cause is to get Congress to pass a bill that would prohibit people on the No-Fly list from being able to buy a gun in the U.S. “If you’re too dangerous to fly in America, then you’re too dangerous to buy a gun in America,” she explained.

Clinton then admitted that passing gun control legislation would be difficult given the power and the intimidation tactics of the NRA, but argued that there was a way to do things while respecting the rights of Americans to own firearms without, “opening the door so wide,” that people like felons, fugitives, stalkers, individuals with serious mental illnesses and potential terrorists are able to get guns.

However, Meyers put some of the blame for the lack of movement on gun control legislation on the Democrats, who weren’t doing a good enough job of reaching out to responsible gun owners who may favor some of the measures. “Gun control will never happen without them,” he declared. Clinton acknowledged that they don’t always have the right approach to it, unlike her husband did when he passed the Brady bill and assault weapons ban because, “he has a way of being able to talk to people,” although, while he was reelected after signing the legislation, some members of his own party paid the political price by losing their seats in Congress.

The former secretary of state agreed with Meyers that there’s no way gun owners are willingly going to give up their firearms, but that the NRA, who she argues is not the same organization it was 40 or 50 years ago, has done an effective job of convincing people that the government is coming to take away their guns by creating fear and doubt within their members.

The rest of the interview was much more lighthearted in nature, and mainly revolved around former President Bill Clinton. Meyers asked Clinton what qualities he has for the job of first gentleman. She rattled off a list of qualifications, including being a good host, giving tours and being good with menus because he’s “vegan-ish.”

Lastly, Clinton recounted her husband’s mission to retrieve two captive American journalists in North Korea. She described the awkwardness of the request by American pop culture fanatic Kim Jong-il to see the former president during her tenure as secretary of state, as well as the demand that Bill never smile around the North Korean president, which involved quite a bit of practice.

Meyers ended with a brief round of trivia about his home state of New Hampshire, the second earliest primary state. It included questions regarding the state’s capital, its largest city, the state motto, three SNL alumni who hail from the state, and, “Who won the 2008 New Hampshire Democratic primary?” “Me!!” she answered, raising her arms in the air.