Seth Meyers Reacts to ‘Finally’ Getting on Trump’s ‘Radar’ After Recent Attack
NEED TO KNOW
- Seth Meyers reacted to becoming the late-night host to receive a social media rant from President Donald Trump
- In August, the president said on Truth Social that Meyers had “no ratings, talent, or intelligence, and the personality of an insecure child”
- This came as the president claimed to hear about “sick rumors” that NBC was renewing Meyers’ late-night contract
Seth Meyers is joking that it’s “kind of nice” to join his late-night peers after landing on President Donald Trump‘s radar.
During his show on Tuesday, Sept. 2, Meyers sat down with Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani, who opened the interview by praising the Late Night host.
“I want to congratulate you for finally getting on Trump’s radar,” Nanjiani teased. “For weeks, he was picking on [Jimmy] Fallon and [Jimmy] Kimmel and [Stephen] Colbert, and I was like, what’s a girl gotta do? Because you talk about him, too.”
The actor then read the actual text of Trump’s Truth Social rant about Meyers, 51, which was posted in the early morning hours of Aug. 27.
“There is a sick rumor going around that Fake News NBC extended the contract of one of the least talented Late Night television hosts out there, Seth Meyers,” the president wrote.
“He has no Ratings, Talent, or Intelligence, and the Personality of an insecure child,” Trump, 79, continued. “So, why would Fake News NBC extend this dope’s contract. I don’t know, but I’ll definitely be finding out!!!”
The timing of Trump’s overnight rant came as a surprise, since Deadline already reported back in May 2024 that NBC had renewed Meyers’ contract through 2028.
“What I love about it is that he called Colbert untalented,” Nanjiani told Meyers. “He called Kimmel even less talented than Colbert. And then he called Fallon insecure. And for you, he combined all three.”
“Hey, it’s kind of nice,” Meyers replied. “In a way, it’s almost like he’s saying, ‘You know, he’s got something for everybody.’ ”
Trump’s recent barrage of attacks against late-night comedians began in July, when he gleefully celebrated the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
On July 17, Colbert made the shocking announcement that the No. 1-rated late-night show was being canceled by CBS after more than 30 years.
The timing prompted speculation about whether or not politics were involved in the decision, as Colbert had just used his platform to slam CBS’ parent company, Paramount, for courting favor with Trump by agreeing to donate millions toward his future presidential library.
Meanwhile, Paramount was also in the midst of a merger with entertainment company Skydance at the time — a deal that required approval from the Trump administration.
In a statement from CBS shared with PEOPLE, the network said their decision to end The Late Show — which consistently ranks first in its time slot and, days prior to the cancellation announcement, received its ninth Emmy nomination for Outstanding Talk Series — was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
The network added that the cancellation was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
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Meyers’ beef with Trump, however, may go back much farther than his fellow late-night hosts.
In 2011, the then-Saturday Night Live head writer and President Barack Obama both roasted Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Meyers, in particular, mocked the businessman and reality star’s burgeoning political career at the time.
“Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican — which is surprising, since I just assumed that he was running as a joke,” the Weekend Update anchor teased.
Trump later denied that Obama and Meyers’ ribbing had anything to do with his political motivations; however, he has so far skipped the Correspondents’ Dinner every year he’s been president.
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