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President Donald Trump said that mocking him is “probably illegal” in a new post targeting Late Night host Seth Meyers.
The president, 79, shared a lengthy Truth Social post calling out Meyers, 51, on Saturday, Nov. 1, after the comedian mocked the president’s recent trip to Asia. Trump called Meyers a “truly deranged lunatic” and questioned the legality of his ribbing.
The president seemed particularly concerned with the talk show host mocking his recent comments about catapults on Late Night with Seth Meyers. While addressing troops in Japan, Trump declared that he will issue an executive order to bring back the use of steam-powered, rather than electromagnetic, catapults on aircraft carriers.
After playing a clip of Trump’s address — which Meyers sarcastically referred to as an “expert treatise” on catapults — the Late Night host joked, “I’ll try my best to explain the gist of what he’s talking about in a new segment we’re calling ‘Seth Translates Trump to English.’ ”
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“Experts say it would cost billions to go back to the old system, but Trump thinks he knows more about aviation than everyone else because he dances like one of those guys that holds the signaling sticks on the runway,” the host later joked over a clip of Trump dancing, which was edited so he’s dressed like an aircraft marshaller.
The catapult address was one of several Trump moments Meyers criticized throughout the segment. The president later took to Truth Social to continue his ongoing attacks against late-night hosts.
“Seth Meyers of NBC may be the least talented person to ‘perform’ live in the history of television,” Trump began his Truth Social post responding to Meyers’ comments. “In fact, he may be the WORST to perform, live or otherwise. I watched his show the other night for the first time in years. In it he talked endlessly about electric catapults on aircraft carriers which I complain about as not being as good as much less expensive steam catapults.”
“On and on he went, a truly deranged lunatic,” the president continued. “Why does NBC waste its time and money on a guy like this??? – NO TALENT, NO RATINGS, 100% ANTI TRUMP, WHICH IS PROBABLY ILLEGAL!!!”
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PEOPLE has reached out to reps for Meyers and Late Night for comment about Trump’s post.
Like other late-night hosts, Meyers has not shied away from taking shots at Trump on Late Night before, and the president’s Nov. 1 post is not the first time he’s targeted the talk show host in one of his Truth Social rants.
In August, after learning that NBC had renewed Meyers’ contract for several more years, Trump wrote that the comedian “has no Ratings, Talent, or Intelligence, and the Personality of an insecure child,” among other digs.
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Trump’s recent barrage of attacks against late-night comedians began in July, when he gleefully celebrated the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The president has also made comments targeting Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, particularly following the latter’s September suspension from the air.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended following controversial remarks Kimmel, 57, made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. At the time, Trump publicly called for Kimmel to be fired.
After the Walt Disney Company announced the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Sept. 23, Meyers showed his support for Kimmel on Late Night, telling his audience it “is possible to stand up to this kind of bullying and censorship.”
