As President-elect Donald Trump brings attention to the fact that NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers is basically just MSNBC with silly metaphors, show writer Amber Ruffin joined the Tuesday show to recall an incident several days prior where Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer’s husband, Bruce, did not shake Vice President Kamala Harris’s hand during her swearing-in photo-op. Instead of pointing out Bruce Fischer uses a cane, Ruffin tried to smear him as a racist.
In lieu of his usual “Closer Look” segment, Meyers welcomed Ruffin for “Amber Says ‘What’,” where Ruffin reacts to news stories by saying “what” in various ways. For this bit, Ruffin recalled, “Then, I saw that everyone was talking about Kamala Harris at the swearing-in of Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, and I was like, ‘What, why?’ But then I saw the video.”
Late Night then played the video in question, and while Bruce’s cane was hard to see underneath the CSPAN chyron, it was there for anyone who bothered to take a closer look or do five seconds of Google research. As Bruce was also holding the Bible for his wife’s oath, he had no free hands.
As it was, Ruffin reacted, “I was like, ‘What!’ Maybe he's on some Howie Mandel stuff and he doesn't shake hands, but then I saw this.”
To contrast with the 2025 clip, Late Night then played a clip from Fischer’s 2019 swearing-in where Bruce shook then-Vice President Mike Pence’s hand. Of course, a lot can happen in six years. In 2019, Bruce did not have a cane.
Ruffin implied ill intent, “And I was like, ‘What!’ Oh, so you know how to shake hands? Well, he's the Nebraska senator's husband, and I got to say, as a black woman from Omaha, Nebraska, people don't shake my hand all the time. In fact, here is a list.”
As the credits-style list rolled, Ruffin reached for the alcohol she previously stated she would need to get through the next four years. As for the list, it included:
- My old neighbor
- The car salesman
- The guy in that hat
- That one bass player
- My friend’s uncle
- The man at that job interview
- An entire receiving line at a wedding
- None of this list is a lie
Bruce Fischer and Kamala Harris had an awkward moment that just happened to be caught on video; that is it, but the effort to make a mountain out of a molehill is part of why Trump launched his Monday attack on Meyers’s show.
Here is a transcript for the January 14-taped show:
NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers
1/15/2025
12:46 AM ET
AMBER RUFFIN: Then, I saw that everyone was talking about Kamala Harris at the swearing in of Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, and I was like, "What, why?" But then I saw the video.
KAMALA HARRIS: Congratulations.
DEB FISCHER: Thank you.
HARRIS: Thank you so much for your work.
DEB FISCHER: Thank you.
HARRIS: Congratulations to you.
BRUCE FISCHER: Thank you.
HARRIS: You're welcome.
RUFFIN: I was like, "What!" Maybe he's on some Howie Mandel stuff and he doesn't shake hands, but then I saw this.
MIKE PENCE: Congratulations, senator.
DEB FISCHER: Thank you, sir.
PENCE: Great. And to you.
BRUCE FISCHER: Appreciate it.
RUFFIN: And I was like, "What!" Oh, so you know how to shake hands? Well, he's the Nebraska senator's husband, and I got to say, as a black woman from Omaha, Nebraska, people don't shake my hand all the time. In fact, here is a list.
