Appearing on Tuesday’s NBC Today, actor Bryan Cranston dramatically changed his tune on President-elect Donald Trump. After promising in October to move to Canada if Trump was elected, the star told co-host Matt Lauer: “...he was not my candidate but he is going to be my president. And I truly hope that he does an exceptionally good job, I really do.”
Cranston continued: “Because if that is true, he has done well for the country. And that's much more important than who I personally wanted to be president.” Lauer failed to bring up Cranston's pre-election pledge to leave the country.
The interview turned to politics when Lauer praised Cranston’s recent Saturday Night Live cameo for a skit bashing Trump’s cabinet picks. Noting the actor reprising his role as drug dealer Walter White from Breaking Bad, Lauer gushed: “Speaking of really good shows, you did a cameo on SNL this past weekend....And the premise, so funny, that Walter White comes back and he's the nominee to head DEA.”
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Lauer then remarked: “You didn't get any tweets from Donald Trump, by the way, congratulations.” Cranston lamented: “No, I want one.” Lauer encouraged him to “look in the camera and beg” Trump to attack him on Twitter. Cranston obliged: “Donald, please, tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet.”
Here is a transcript of the December 13 exchange:
8:36 AM ET
(...)
MATT LAUER: Speaking of really good shows, you did a cameo on SNL this past weekend. How’d that come about?
BRYAN CRANSTON: I got a call from Lorne Michaels and he said, “Are you interested in coming on?”
LAUER: Yes!
CRANSTON: Yes, I love the show, I hosted it before and it is a whirlwind. It's like controlled chaos. You look at the structure of that show and you go, it shouldn't work, but every week they pull it off and it’s funny.
LAUER: And the premise, so funny, that Walter White comes back and he's the nominee to head DEA.
CRANSTON: DEA.
LAUER: You didn't get any tweets from Donald Trump, by the way, congratulations.
CRANSTON: No, I want one.
LAUER: You want – look in the camera and beg him.
CRANSTON: Donald, please, tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet.
LAUER: President-elect Donald.
CRANSTON: Yes, yes. President-elect Donald. You know, and I was – he was not my candidate but he is going to be my president. And I truly hope that he does an exceptionally good job, I really do. Because if that is true, he has done well for the country. And that's much more important than who I personally wanted to be president.
LAUER: And I think that's a good way to end.
(...)
