‘Dumb and untalented’: Trump fervently tears into a beloved late-night TV host
Donald Trump has a new target for online rebuke: Seth Meyers.
In a rant on Truth Social, Trump tore into “Marble Mouth” Seth Meyers’, calling the late-night host “dumb and untalented” and claimed that late night talk shows were “contributions” to the “Radical Left Democrat Party.” Trump went on to complain that late night talk shows were “political hits” before threatening to hit back at NBC’s parent company Comcast, who he said should “pay a BIG price for this.”
This is hardly the first time that Trump has raged against satire against him. Despite his strongman persona, the president-elect has proved to be thin skinned when it comes to media mockery. Trump has taken shots at Jimmy Fallon, calling him “weak and pathetic” after he allowed the host to mess up his hair. Meanwhile, Trump called Stephen Colbert a “total loser” and “VERY BORING” after Colbert baited him with the same adjective. Trump was reportedly so mad Trump previously ranted about Jimmy Kimmel, whose “isn’t it past your jail-time?” jab at president-elect during the Oscars provoked Trump into calling Kimmel “one of the dumbest human beings ever.” Trump was so enraged by Kimmel that he allegedly attempted to censor the late night host during his first term in office.
Trump is a frequent critic of the media, leading him to popularize the now ubiquitous term “fake news” to describe any and all bad press against him and his party. The president-elect has proven to be vindictive in his pursuit to quash all criticism, and recently sued ABC for defamation, a case that the network recently agreed to settle for $15 million. He’s currently suing a regional paper in Iowa for publishing a presidential poll that he didn’t like. He’s even personally suing the pollster who created the poll itself . Trump claims that the poll jeopardized his election chances in Iowa, a state he won by 13 percentage points.
“I feel I have to do this,” said Trump of the newspaper lawsuit in a press conference at Mar a Lago. “We have to straighten out the press.” Trump echoed his claim that waging lawfare against his critics was some sort of civic duty in his attack on Seth Meyers, saying that he felt an “obligation” to attack the late night host. Trump evidently feels the “obligation” when it comes to attacking journalists, many of whom have reported that they feel at risk of physical violence due to Trump’s rhetoric – particularly when covering Trump rallies. Considering that Trump has threatened journalists with prison rape at those rallies, it isn’t hard to see why.
Though Trump threatened that Comcast should have to “pay” for Meyers’ criticisms, the president-elect himself has had to shell out enormous sums of money in defamation lawsuits. Trump was ordered to pay $80 million in a defamation lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carrol, the woman he was found to have raped. Trump’s allies have also paid out hefty settlements in lawsuits, Rudy Giuliani was ordered to pay two Georgia election workers nearly $15o million after the former NYC mayor defamed them while spreading lies about the 2020 election results.
While Trump has had some luck in pursuing defamation settlements, many of his lawsuits are thrown out as soon as they’re filed. Trump once attempted to sue CBS for $10 billion because he didn’t like the way they edited a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. While Trump may hem and haw about the free press, there’s little he can actually do to stop it – and late night show hosts like Seth Meyers will continue to have the last laugh.
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
