NBC’s Seth Meyers mourned on Thursday’s edition of Late Night that our “stupid system” has enabled Donald Trump to escape his legal difficulties and that there are those in the Democratic Party who think the reason why he won is because they are too far left.
Talking about the Republicans who are demanding the efforts to prosecute Trump now cease, Meyers lamented, “You'll probably get your way because the Supreme Court gave Trump immunity and the DOJ has a dumb policy about not prosecuting sitting presidents and it stinks. We have a stupid system that basically makes getting elected president a get out of jail free card. They're going to have to add one to Monopoly that says, ‘Run for president. Win, collect $200.’"
After a couple of news clips about the Justice Department starting the process of ending Jack Smith’s case against Trump, Meyers again lamented, “You know, not everything the Democrats did the last four years was great. But one thing you can't complain about was the deliberate pace with which Merrick Garland prosecuted Donald Trump. I mean, he dotted his I’s and crossed his T’s, then dotted his T’s and crossed his I’s. Then he crossed out his I’s and replaced them with T’s, then he crossed actual eyes and put dots on his T-shirt, and sure, at the end of four years, there's literally nothing to show for it. But is that what a Justice Department is even for, results? Or is it about the journey?”
A sarcastic Meyers added, “Pretty awesome that by winning the presidency you get off scot-free from your many legal cases. Justice is served.”
Later, Meyers addressed Rep. Ritchie Torres’s statement that “Donald Trump has no greater friend than the far-left.”
Torres’s statement focused on left-wing culture war nonsense from defunding the police, anti-Israel “From the river to the sea,” and “latinx” radicals, but Meyers took it differently, “You think Kamala Harris was too far left? She campaigned with Liz Cheney. The only way she could have run a more mainstream, centrist campaign is if she formed a Huey Lewis cover band with Mitt Romney and did a cameo on Law & Order. I mean, she praised Dick Cheney, for crying out loud. And personally, you know, I'm shocked that didn't work. I assume there was a groundswell of support for Old Growler here.”
Meyers had his own suggestions, “Look, I'm not all that interested in recriminations and infighting, but I do think there are some important lessons Democrats could learn from this. For example, I've been thinking a lot about something Barack Obama said on the campaign trail.”
In a clip, Obama told a rally crowd, “Some folks will be like, ‘Well, Donald Trump sent me a check during the pandemic.'... let me make sure y'all understand this. Joe Biden sent you a check during the pandemic, just like I gave people relief during the Great Recession. The thing is, we didn't put our name on it.”
Meyers then urged the party to go far-left, while insisting he wasn’t, “Okay, but you should have. Like, next time put your name on it. Seriously, Joe Biden should have sent everyone $1,000 in the mail and called it Biden Bucks and it's not an issue of left versus far-left... So, next time, make it easy. Just pass a universal healthcare plan and send everyone a little ID card in the mail that says ‘Obamacare,’ or ‘A Democrat gave this to you, please remember that, okay?’"
The problem for Meyers and Harris was nobody believed her “mainstream, centrist campaign” was genuine and that’s how “our stupid system” ended up picking the guy with “many legal cases” instead.
Here is a transcript for the November 7-taped show:
NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers
11/8/2024
12:54 AM ET
SETH MEYERS: And you know what? You'll probably get your way because the Supreme Court gave Trump immunity and the DOJ has a dumb policy about not prosecuting sitting presidents and it stinks. We have a stupid system that basically makes getting elected president a get out of jail free card. They're going to have to add one to Monopoly that says, "Run for president. Win, collect $200." And then a second card that says, "Unless your name is Rudy Giuliani, then you're still broke and disbarred and weird." And sure enough, DOJ officials are already getting ready to comply with Republican demands.
PAULA REID: I'm told that Jack Smith is someone who understands that he has to follow whatever the rules and regulations of the Justice Department are. So, at this point, they are looking for ways to wind this down. I'm told it's unclear when this will happen… I'm told that the formal discussions, according to my source, have begun in earnest today, and it's going to take them several days to figure out exactly what this looks like.
DAVID SPUNT: So, given the fact DOJ policy says you cannot prosecute a sitting president, expect Jack Smith's cases to be done… Donald Trump's legal problems have essentially all gone away since he won last night.
MEYERS: You know, not everything the Democrats did the last four years was great. But one thing you can't complain about was the deliberate pace with which Merrick Garland prosecuted Donald Trump. I mean, he dotted his I’s and crossed his T’s, then dotted his T’s and crossed his I’s. Then he crossed out his I’s and replaced them with T’s, then he crossed actual eyes and put dots on his T-shirt, and sure, at the end of four years, there's literally nothing to show for it. But is that what a Justice Department is even for, results? Or is it about the journey?
Pretty awesome that by winning the presidency you get off scot-free from your many legal cases. Justice is served.
…
MEYERS: You think Kamala Harris was too far left? She campaigned with Liz Cheney. The only way she could have run a more mainstream, centrist campaign is if she formed a Huey Lewis cover band with Mitt Romney and did a cameo on Law & Order. I mean, she praised Dick Cheney, for crying out loud. And personally, you know, I'm shocked that didn't work. I assume there was a groundswell of support for Old Growler here.
My aunt and uncle loved that guy. "Hey, Tony, I heard you were going to vote for Trump, but then Dick Cheney endorsed Kamala." "Yeah, I love that freaking guy. Now, give me some peace. I'm trying to watch the Jets." "The Jets ain't never gonna bring you peace, Tony." "Madonna."
Look, I'm not all that interested in recriminations and infighting, but I do think there are some important lessons Democrats could learn from this. For example, I've been thinking a lot about something Barack Obama said on the campaign trail.
BARACK OBAMA: Some folks will be like, "Well, Donald Trump sent me a check during the pandemic." No, no, no. Y'all -- y'all know -- 'cause I've heard this. I know y'all -- some of you heard that. Hey, let me -- let me -- let me make sure y'all understand this. Joe Biden sent you a check during the pandemic, just like I gave people relief during the Great Recession. The thing is, we didn't put our name on it.
MEYERS: Okay, but you should have. Like, next time put your name on it. Seriously, Joe Biden should have sent everyone $1,000 in the mail and called it Biden Bucks and it's not an issue of left versus far-left. You just have to make people's lives better in a way that's direct and easy to understand, and then aggressively take credit for it. Take Obamacare. It's great. In the polls, people say they love it. They want to keep it. But polls also show they're sometimes confused by it or don't even know they have it. So, next time, make it easy. Just pass a universal healthcare plan and send everyone a little ID card in the mail that says "Obamacare," or "A Democrat gave this to you, please remember that, okay?"
