During his appearance on the 3rd Hour Today show on Tuesday, Late Night host and left-wing comedian Seth Meyers promoted his new Netflix stand-up special while being treated to fawning adulation from the anchors. The morning show cast went so far as to declare Meyers a “primary news source” for his liberal audience.
Noting that it was one year from the 2020 presidential election, host Craig Melvin observed to Meyers: “You do a lot of politics on your show.” Meyers replied: “We do. It’s an interesting time to have a late night show because I feel audiences really engage with it....and I think they appreciate any time you can lay it out in a way that also has jokes, makes it go down a little bit easier.”
Meyers’ show has been a bastion for Trump bashing and softball chats with 2020 Democratic candidates.
Sheinelle Jones chimed in to heap praise on the lefty comic:
Can I tell you, there will be sometimes things are going on – I remember when things happened in Syria or what have you, and it gets kind of wonky and nuanced and people don’t understand it, they’ll go to the late night shows. They’ll go to your show, they’ll go to The Daily Show, they go to shows to try to almost make it clear, try to – you know, palpable, if you will. I think people have a thirst for it, have a desire for it.
Meyers demurred and described his show and others as “good secondary news sources.” Al Roker then insisted: “But people do – people do see you guys as their primary news source.” The weatherman then asked: “Is there – do you feel a certain responsibility?”
“We do feel a responsibility to get the facts right, and to try to lay it out in a way that can make it, you know, for people who aren’t maybe, you know, fully engaged in stories like you’re talking about,” Meyers claimed. He then laughably remarked: “And yeah, we don’t – we think fair means to be honest and to get the facts right. And so we try really hard.”
If Seth Meyers is NBC’s idea of a “primary news source,” what does that make the Today show hosts?
Here is a transcript of the November 5 exchange:
9:03 AM ET
(...)
CRAIG MELVIN: We also have him here because today marks one year from 2020.
SETH MEYERS: One year from the election, how about that guys?
AL ROKER: It’s Election Day here and all across the country.
SHEINELLE JONES: Oh, man.
MELVIN: Still eight Democratic primary debates left.
ROKER: Only eight? Wow.
DYLAN DREYER: Be sure to watch them all.
MELVIN: One of which will be co-hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post later this month. You do a lot of politics on your show.
MEYERS: We do. It’s an interesting time to have a late night show because I feel audiences really engage with it. They like to talk about it, they like to hear about it, and I think they appreciate any time you can lay it out in a way that also has jokes, makes it go down a little bit easier.
DREYER: Makes it more digestible.
MEYERS: A little.
JONES: Can I tell you, there will be sometimes things are going on – I remember when things happened in Syria or what have you, and it gets kind of wonky and nuanced and people don’t understand it, they’ll go to the late night shows. They’ll go to your show, they’ll go to The Daily Show, they go to shows to try to almost make it clear, try to – you know, palpable, if you will. I think people have a thirst for it, have a desire for it.
MEYERS: I always – I think we’re all, everyone you mentioned, are good secondary news sources. I feel like you try to get it from the news first. That’s where we’re getting it. I know what table I’m at.
JONES: But it’s true.
ROKER: But people do – people do see you guys as their primary news source. Is there – do you feel a certain responsibility?
MEYERS: We do feel a responsibility to get the facts right, and to try to lay it out in a way that can make it, you know, for people who aren’t maybe, you know, fully engaged in stories like you’re talking about. And yeah, we don’t – we think fair means to be honest and to get the facts right. And so we try really hard.
(...)
