Sunday night, President Trump sent out a tweet telling Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon to “be a man” and stand up to liberal pressure. Fallon has been attacked from the left for his September 15, 2016 interview with Trump, with critics claiming he humanized the then-presidential nominee. During the interview, Fallon famously messed up Trump’s hair to prove it was not a wig.
Fallon has a history of sucking up to his guests, like when he joked with then-Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, about her email server. However, making light of a serious breach of national security does not seem to carry the same weight to the left as tousling Mr. Trump’s hair.
Fallon has not taken the infamous Trump interview well. He claims he lost viewership because the public ganged up on him. Since the episode aired, the Tonight Show has lost one-fifth of his audience. Fallon also did not get a nomination for an Emmy in 2017 despite being nominated the prior three years straight.
The Tonight Show host has some deep regrets. In an emotional interview on the Awards Chatter Podcast, Fallon broke down talking about the public backlash:
“You go, 'Alright, we get it. I heard you. You made me feel bad. So now what? Are you happy? I'm depressed. Do you want to push me more? What do you want me to do? You want me to kill myself? What would make you happy? Get over it.’”.....”I'm sorry. I don't want to make anyone angry — I never do and I never will. It's all in the fun of the show. I made a mistake. I'm sorry if I made anyone mad. And, looking back, I would do it differently.”
In response to the President's tweet, Fallon pledged to donate to RAICES, a Texas-based, non-profit, immigration law firm. Their website claims the group, “promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees.” The organization recently brought in $18 million worth of donations in just one week thanks to a viral Facebook fundraiser. That number now sits at over $20 million and is still growing. Fallon says he’ll be making the donation in Trump’s name.
