NBC Comedians Promote Conspiracy Theories Ahead Of Midterms

Alex Christy
October 8th, 2026 10:01 AM

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NBC’s Late Night host, Seth Meyers, and Tonight Show host, Jimmy Fallon, both used their Wednesday shows to promote conspiracy theories that President Trump will try to cancel, nullify, or in some way steal the upcoming midterm elections.

Meyers’s evidence, such as it was, was a recent article in The Atlantic that tried to claim “supporters” are trying to get Trump to declare martial law. Buried deep in the article is an admission that these people have no power or influence over anything, but Meyers nevertheless declared, “As a general rule, you never want to hear a bunch of crazy people say the words 'there's a plan.' You know? If you're on the subway and someone comes up to you and says, ‘Hey, good news, there's a plan.’ That's when you put your earbuds in and move to the other end of the car. I've known a lot of crazy people in my life, and the last thing you want them to do is plan something. I mean that's, like, 50 percent of Seinfeld episodes.”

 

 

After an extended Seinfeld bit, Meyers introduced a clip of Trump at a ceremony announcing the opening of a new submarine shipyard, “Now, who knows? Who knows if Trump will actually follow through with this plan. And even if he does, it's not a foregone conclusion that he'll succeed. But at a speech on Tuesday, he gave an ominous shout out to one of his aides, a guy named Russ Vougt, who Trump himself has called Darth Vader.”

In the clip, Trump teased, “Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, who is fantastic. He's done a job. We have some big surprises coming up in another few weeks, right Russ?”

Again, this was a Navy event, so the odds Trump was referring to some election scheme are essentially zero, but Meyers kept the conspiracy alive:

Well, if your big surprise is to try to steal the election, I'll bet Russ wasn't too psyched about the callout. Trump is like a bank robber who freaks out and immediately starts calling the other robbers by their names. ‘Oh man, he pressed the alarm. What do we do, Kevin Johnson? Kevin Johnson of Jamaica, Queens. Middle initial Q. What do we do?’ Now we—who the hell knows what this guy's talking about. He could be describing an illegal scheme to seize voting machines and declare martial law, or he could be teasing another dumb renovation that he's really excited about.

Earlier in the evening, Fallon reported, “For the first time in over 20 years, the White House is refusing to allow international election monitors to observe the midterms. They're calling it Operation Sus.”

Introducing a satirical Trump ad for a paper shredder, he continued, "Yep, the White House isn't allowing international election monitors. A lot of people are worried Trump might try to mess with the voting. So, to address those concerns, he's put out this message. Watch this.”

 

 

In the ad, Fake Trump explained how, “It's almost Election Day and every American deserves to have their ballots counted. That's why I'm making sure every Democratic district will have an extra secure, state-of-the-art Trump ballot counter. With the Trump ballot counter, just slide your ballot into the machine and then rest easy. They work perfectly. I just tested them with the Epstein files. And best of all, it makes fresh confetti for my big election night party. The Trump ballot counter. Made in Russia.”

When the midterm elections come and go without martial law or paper shredders, Meyers and Fallon will not return and admit their fears were unfounded. That is just another way the late night comedy shows are indistinguishable from the rest of the media.

Here is a transcript for the October 7-taped shows:

NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers

10/8/2026

12:48 AM ET
SETH MEYERS: As a general rule, you never want to hear a bunch of crazy people say the words, “there's a plan.” You know? If you're on the subway and someone comes up to you and says, “Hey, good news, there's a plan.”

That's when you put your earbuds in and move to the other end of the car. I've known a lot of crazy people in my life, and the last thing you want them to do is plan something. I mean that's, like, 50 percent of Seinfeld episodes. Like Cramer bursts into Jerry's apartment and says, "I got a plan, Jerry." And then Jerry says, "So what's the plan?" And Cramer says, "No more forks, Jerry. From now I'm eating everything with my hands."

Then George decides to eat with his hands at work. But it grosses out his boss and he gets fired. He's like, "I got fired, Jerry." And Jerry is like, "Why?" And he's like, "I went no forks." And then Jerry says, "You went no forks and now you forked yourself." [Seinfeld chime]

Now, who knows? Who knows if Trump will actually follow through with this plan. And even if he does, it's not a foregone conclusion that he'll succeed. But at a speech on Tuesday, he gave an ominous shout out to one of his aides, a guy named Russ Vougt, who Trump himself has called Darth Vader.

DONALD TRUMP: Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vougt, who is fantastic. He's done a job. We have some big surprises coming up in another few weeks, right Russ?

MEYERS: Well, if your big surprise is to try to steal the election, I'll bet Russ wasn't too psyched about the callout. Trump is like a bank robber who freaks out and immediately starts calling the other robbers by their names. "Oh man, he pressed the alarm. What do we do, Kevin Johnson? Kevin Johnson of Jamaica, Queens. Middle initial Q. What do we do?”

Now we—Who the hell knows what this guy's talking about. He could be describing an illegal scheme to seize voting machines and declare martial law, or he could be teasing another dumb renovation that he's really excited about.

***

NBC The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

10/7/2026

11:36 PM ET

JIMMY FALLON: For the first time in over 20 years, the White House is refusing to allow international election monitors to observe the midterms. They're calling it Operation Sus.

Yep, the White House isn't allowing international election monitors. A lot of people are worried Trump might try to mess with the voting. So, to address those concerns, he's put out this message. Watch this.

FAKE DONALD TRUMP: It's almost Election Day and every American deserves to have their ballots counted. That's why I'm making sure every Democratic district will have an extra secure, state-of-the-art Trump ballot counter. With the Trump ballot counter, just slide your ballot into the machine and then rest easy. They work perfectly. I just tested them with the Epstein files. And best of all, it makes fresh confetti for my big election night party. The Trump ballot counter. Made in Russia.

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