They're two of a kind! Tuesday’s Late Night with Seth Meyers proved to be more reminiscent of an Al Gore fundraising event than an entertaining television program as the two men yukked it up over climate change and President Trump.
With Gore known for his climate change hysteria, Meyers could not resist lauding over the left’s favorite piece of legislation, The Green New Deal. The liberal late-night host even suggested Gore should be jealous of the extreme proposal:
I want to ask about the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal lays out a lot of the things you've been talking about for a very long time. Are you impressed by it? And are you also a little jealous you didn't come up with the name because, The Green New Deal is a good name.
Gore praised the name for its parallel to FDR’s New Deal; “I think it's a great brand, and a great name…I think it's genius because it does a couple things, it manages to communicate the reality that the solutions to the climate crisis are going to have to be big, on the scale of the New Deal.”
The topic of climate change was far from over as Meyers proceeded to place blame upon President Trump for the upcoming peril of the world (as the left sees it):
One thing that affects Republicans and Democrats alike although some people don't want to admit it is climate change. And we have obviously seen a President who's rolled back -- you know, pulled us out of the Paris Climate Agreement, put a lot of lobbyists from the energy industry into his Cabinet. And yet, on the other hand, it does seem like there's a reason for optimism because how engaged young people are right now in the sense that they understand how much their future is being played with. Do you feel like we are doomed or do you have some optimism?
It seems rather counterintuitive to presume Al Gore would have an optimistic message about the environment.
Of course, what would the night be without a question regarding the impeachment inquiry into President Trump? Never one to risk backlash from his liberal audience, Meyers coated the query with adulation for former President Clinton:
...you know you were in the White House the last time there was impeachment going on. What is your take?... You know, I think, one thing that people keep drawing a distinction as far as that time and the present, is you guys did try to go about your business of running the country.
To begin, Gore played it as though he was above getting into the impeachment fray, while in the same breath labeling President Trump as “dangerous”:
I'm so tempted to get into this full bore, but I'm not going to do it. It would not go well. Well, I mean - look, I honestly believe, Seth, that, all joking aside, that this is the most dangerous time for the United States of America I've ever seen in my lifetime.
Meyers closed out the interview with a slobbering message for Gore: “Well, thank you so much for all the attention you've brought to this over the years and I really hope that your optimism is borne out to be from a good place and it's just such a pleasure to see you as always.”
It’s hard to fathom this was an interview with a former Vice President and not a campaign rally.
Transcript below:
Late Night With Seth Meyers
11/19/19
11:11:28 AM
SETH MEYERS: I do want to talk about the environment obviously, having you here. But I do, with impeachment, you know you were in the White House the last time there was impeachment going on. What is your take?... You know, I think, one thing that people keep drawing a distinction as far as that time and the present, is you guys did try to go about your business of running the country.
AL GORE: Yeah, yeah.
MEYERS: Is that one of the major differences, and are there others you've seen?
GORE: I'm so tempted to get into this full bore, but I'm not going to do it. It would not go well. Well, I mean - look, I honestly believe, Seth, that, all joking aside, that this is the most dangerous time for the United States of America I've ever seen in my lifetime. And there is just a radical all-out assault from Donald Trump on the values of America, the norms of America, the rule of law in America so I'm impressed with the way the House Intelligence Committee is going about these hearings. And I think it's having an impact. People are seeing these incredibly honest, hard working, women and men who have been serving our country in the foreign service and in other ways and I think they're -- you know, I think they're making a big impression and Trump's going after them even as they're up there still serving the country, telling the truth.
(...)
MEYERS: One thing that affects Republicans and Democrats alike although some people don't want to admit it is climate change. And we have obviously seen a President who's rolled back -- you know, pulled us out of the Paris Climate Agreement, put a lot of lobbyists from the energy industry into his Cabinet. And yet, on the other hand, it does seem like there's a reason for optimism because how engaged young people are right now in the sense that they understand how much their future is being played with. Do you feel like we are doomed or do you have some optimism?
GORE: Well, I have optimism and hope, but in all candor, we've got to recognize that this is the most serious challenge human civilization has ever faced. I mean this is -- this is for real you -- I'm sure you know that very well. I know you well enough to be sure of that. I mean, we're putting 142 million tons of this man made heat trapping pollution into the sky like it's an open sewer every day. You've seen the fires out west and, you know, the rain bombs and the ice is melting and all -- all of that stuff so it's very serious now, Trump -- President Trump said he wants to take the country out of the Paris agreement, but under the law he can't do it until one day after the next Presidential Election next year so that decision is still in the hands of the people and a new President could put us back in in 30 days. But I want to agree with one thing you said, Greta Thunberg and the other young people, who are appealing to the conscience of men and women all around the world, are really leading an extremely important movement the school strike movement, and the extinction rebellion, the sunrise movement these young people are really making a huge difference and this is going to grow.
(...)
MEYERS: I want to ask about the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal lays out a lot of the things you've been talking about for a very long time. Are you impressed by it? And are you also a little jealous you didn't come up with the name because, The Green New Deal is a good name.
GORE: I think it's a great brand, and a great name and you know, my friend Tom Friedman actually used that phrase some years back but I think it's -- I think it's genius because it does a couple things it manages to communicate the reality that the solutions to the climate crisis are going to have to be big on the scale of the New Deal. It also conveys that there are lots of jobs involved. We can get our country being more prosperous on a sustainable basis while we solve the climate crisis. Fastest growing job in America is solar installer, six times faster growth than average jobs, second fastest growing job is wind turbine technician. This is a revolution that is creating tens of thousands, millions of new jobs. I was with Governor Phil Murphy in New Jersey this morning they were launching this humongous new offshore wind farm that's going to produce half of all the electricity that the entire state of New Jersey gets. And that's just the beginning. We're seeing the same thing under Governor Cuomo here in New York state, in California. Way more than half the American people live in states where the Governors and the state government are moving even faster than the Paris agreement. So there is cause for optimism.
MEYERS: Well, thank you so much for all the attention you've brought to this over the years and I really hope that your optimism is borne out to be from a good place and it's just such a pleasure to see you as always.
