Trump Criticizes Fox News Over Abdul El-Sayed Interview

[0:01] I'm Seth Meyers, this is Laney, and we hope you're doing well. [0:03] And now, if you don't mind, we're going to get to the news. [0:06] A photograph has gained attention online [0:08] of President Trump on stage at his rally last week [0:12] in Nebraska, opening his jacket [0:14] and revealing that it was a Joseph A. Bank suit. [0:17] Uh-oh, guys. I don't think we're going to get [0:20] those $5,000 checks. [0:23] That's right. Trump was wearing a Joseph A. Bank suit. [0:28] You know everything's too expensive [0:29] when billionaires start shopping at Joseph A. Bank. [0:33] It's not a suit for a rally. [0:35] That's a suit for your first semiformal. [0:38] That's a good one there. [0:43] During an Oval Office event today, [0:45] President Trump said that he has a call set up [0:48] with Russian President Vladimir Putin for his birthday. [0:51] But what do you get for a man who already has [0:53] his own American president? [0:58] President Trump announced today that every eligible U.S. child [1:01] has been automatically enrolled in a so-called Trump account [1:04] and added, quote, [1:05] these beautiful young children are extremely rich. [1:09] Rich, what can you get for $1,000 these days [1:12] besides 10 of Trump's suits? [1:15] During his rally on Monday in Nebraska, [1:20] President Trump suggested that Iran might target [1:22] Los Angeles and San Diego. [1:24] All right, I know you hate liberal Hollywood, [1:26] but what did San Diego ever do to you? [1:29] That's home to RFK Jr.'s favorite restaurant. [1:32] I thought you were there and endangered. [1:45] During the same rally, President Trump had White House [1:51] Special Assistant Natalie Harp come on stage [1:53] to take a signed executive order and said, [1:55] she reminds me of The Price is Right. [1:57] All right, maybe the midterms isn't the best time [2:00] to remind people of the game show [2:01] where you guessed the price of groceries. [2:04] President Trump also... President Trimp? [2:07] I think it's Trimp. [2:08] President Trump also criticized Fox News [2:12] for airing an interview with Democratic Senate candidate [2:14] Abdul El-Sayed and said, quote, [2:16] they never have any of us on television. [2:18] Well, of course they don't. [2:19] They're trying to make you look good. [2:21] When asked on Monday what the U.S. will do [2:25] about the pneumonic plague in Russia, [2:27] President Trump said that his administration [2:29] just heard about it and is, quote, [2:31] looking at it very strongly, [2:33] which is my favorite stupid thing he says. [2:38] What does that mean, looking at it strongly? [2:40] Just say you're looking at it. [2:42] The only person in your administration [2:44] looking at a thing strongly is Kash Patel. [2:49] He looked a little too strongly. [2:53] He pulled an eye hamstring, an eye hammy. [2:58] Krispy Kreme this week announced [3:01] a new Looney Tunes-inspired Bugs Bunny donut [3:04] that is filled with chocolate dulce cream [3:06] and topped with chocolate drizzles, bat sprinkles, [3:09] and a Bugs Bunny vampire sugar piece. [3:11] And after you eat it, you'll be saying, [3:13] what's up, to your doc. [3:15] The convenience store chain Wawa has begun testing [3:21] grab-and-go sushi at some of its locations in Pennsylvania, [3:24] and there's no better time to try sushi [3:26] than when it's being tested. [3:28] And finally, an apple pie tree statue [3:34] that was part of McDonald's McDonaldland [3:36] and can be found in restaurants [3:38] was recently listed on Facebook Marketplace for $10,000. [3:41] So, looks like the price of the ballroom just went up again. [3:44] And that was a month! [3:46] From Argon and Ayer, he directed, co-wrote, [3:56] and produced his Stars and Animals, [3:58] which is in select theaters and on Netflix October 9th. [4:01] My friend Ben Affleck is here, everybody! [4:03] A major fantastic musician. [4:08] He is the former frontman of iconic rock band Talking Heads [4:11] and his new book, Sleeping Beauties, [4:13] Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up [4:16] is available now. [4:17] David Byrne is back on the show, everybody. [4:22] But before we get to all that, [4:24] the president caused a slight kerfuffle [4:26] by suggesting that Iran could take out Los Angeles and San Diego. [4:29] Meanwhile, his allies are plotting ways [4:31] to undermine the midterms, [4:32] and Trump himself is refusing to rule out [4:34] using the Insurrection Act. [4:36] For more on this, it's time for A Closer Look. [4:39] Trump loves to brag about how powerful he is, [4:45] even when he's doing something inconsequential, [4:47] like announcing changes to federal rules on fishing. [4:51] I could have banned fishing. [4:53] I'll tell you what. [4:54] The power of this office is crazy. [4:57] I could have banned fishing. [4:58] I think I'm going to do that, maybe just a quick order, [5:01] just for a day or two. [5:02] You know, I do bet he has pretended there was a fishing ban. [5:06] You know, probably 40 years ago when young Don Jr. [5:09] was standing in his doorway with a rod. [5:11] Paul, we go fishing today? [5:14] Were that we could, DJ, but I'm afraid there's been a ban. [5:17] I'm afraid so, dear boy. [5:21] Also, it's now punishable by death for fathers [5:24] to attend Little League games. [5:25] We can't get to break, you and I. [5:30] Trump relishes how much power he thinks he has, [5:32] and it's true that the presidency has grown in power [5:34] over the years. [5:35] It wasn't always like this. [5:36] In fact, after Richard Nixon resigned, [5:38] Congress made an effort to rein in the presidency. [5:41] After Watergate, there was an effort to reform the presidency [5:45] and to put some constraints on it. [5:47] A lot of ethics laws were passed. [5:50] Independent agencies were safeguarded. [5:53] The whole effort was to fight corruption, to fight tyranny, [5:57] to make sure that the president didn't become a tyrant. [6:00] Oh, they wanted to fight corruption and tyranny? [6:01] Well, sounds like they nailed it. [6:03] I mean, in fairness, who could have possibly predicted [6:07] the level of corruption we've seen under Trump? [6:09] Imagine if, while they were writing anti-corruption laws, [6:11] someone said, hey, guys, I think we should maybe just, [6:13] I don't know, add in a clause that says something like, [6:15] a president can't put his name on a meme coin, [6:17] and he can't accept a luxury jet from Qatar, [6:19] and he can't do a crypto deal with the UAE, [6:21] and he can't take donations for a ballroom [6:23] and demolish the East Wing and put his name on the Kennedy Center, [6:25] and start a trade war with Canada, or real war with Iran, [6:27] or put his own personal attorney in charge of the Justice Department, [6:29] or let Elon Musk wreak havoc on federal programs, [6:32] or use taxpayer monies for campaign ads, [6:34] and he can't sell his own personal brand of sneakers, [6:36] Bibles, cologne, and trading cards. [6:37] And just in case this comes up somehow, [6:39] he can't ban phishing. [6:41] In the room, it would have been like, [6:48] uh, Jeff, hey, you're being a drama queen. [6:52] So Congress tried to limit the power of the presidency, [6:54] but over the next few decades, [6:55] conservatives fought to roll back those restrictions, [6:58] culminating in the MAGA Supreme Court [7:00] basically letting Trump do whatever he wants. [7:03] The presidential immunity decision [7:05] was obviously the Supreme Court [7:07] showing a broad embrace of executive authority, [7:11] and that was a case where the court said, [7:14] for lack of a better way of describing it, [7:15] we need to kind of bubble wrap the president. [7:18] And if there's ever been a president [7:19] who needs to be bubble wrapped, it's Donald Trump. [7:22] Or better yet, they could just have him travel by Zorb. [7:26] We're doing amazing things with the ballroom. [7:28] Somebody roll me over so I can show the fake news the ballroom. [7:32] I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point, [7:36] they actually put Trump in bubble wrap. [7:38] I mean, we've already seen him come close [7:40] to wiping out on the stairs. [7:42] And sure, it wasn't as bad as the time Joe Biden tripped, [7:45] but at least Biden saved it by saluting when he got to the top. [7:49] Trump's move is to just pretend it never happened. [7:52] In fact, at a rally a few days ago, he actually bragged. [7:55] He bragged about how good he is at walking. [7:58] Don't forget, when Biden left the stage, [8:00] he spoke very shortly, like two minutes, one minute, [8:04] as quickly as possible. [8:06] He could never find the stairs. [8:08] I don't have that problem. [8:10] You know, these things, do you know how many stairs they have? [8:12] Look, I can go ramp, I can go stair, I can go another stair. [8:18] Another stair in the back, I have a stair here. [8:20] He could never find a stair. [8:22] I mean, it's true Biden's rallies were shorter than Trump's, [8:25] but one of the reasons is he never did a tight five [8:27] on where the stairs were. [8:31] He's so proud of his ability to point at things and name them. [8:33] It's official. We've elected President Brick from Anchorman. [8:38] I love carpet, I love desk, I love lamp. [8:41] We all love lamp, don't we, folks? [8:43] It's better than sun because you can look at it. [8:45] If you look at lamp, no one makes fun of you. [8:48] But if you look at sun, everyone says, [8:50] No, Mr. President, don't look at sun. [8:52] You'll burn your eye. [8:53] But eye and eye are good. [8:55] That's why I'm so fine at reading off teleprompter. [8:57] I never make mistake with teleprompter, [8:59] because word too long. [9:01] Saudi Arabia and Russia will repeat... [9:04] The point is, Trump thinks his power is virtually unlimited, [9:11] and polls have shown people hate that. [9:13] A majority of voters say Trump is dangerous and corrupt, [9:15] and yet Trump is doubling down. [9:17] In an interview published last week, Time Magazine asked him, [9:19] Would you rule out declaring a state of emergency [9:22] in the lead-up to the midterms unless there's widespread violence [9:25] in the streets? To which Trump responded, [9:26] I don't rule anything out or in. We'll see. [9:28] You mean the Insurrection Act? [9:30] No, I've never used it. I could use it. [9:33] A lot of people think I should use it sometimes. [9:35] I mean, that's a classic Trump answer. [9:37] He goes from, I've never done it, to I could do it, [9:38] to a lot of people think I should do it. [9:40] It's a matter of seconds. [9:41] I mean, imagine talking like that in any other situation. [9:44] If your spouse asks you, are you having an affair, [9:46] and you say, never, I could, many people say I should, [9:51] you can guarantee they're about to go have one. [9:55] Also, I know it's hard to cover the president, [9:57] but, like, don't ask him questions like that. [10:00] You're just going to give him ideas. [10:02] It's like, hey, uh, Mr. President, [10:04] you ever thought about letting out the pandas [10:06] at the National Zoo? [10:07] Just, like, leaving the cages open and seeing what happens? [10:12] Well, I haven't, but, uh, I could. [10:15] But the one part of Trump's answer that's true [10:18] is that there are people around him urging him [10:20] to take control of elections before the midterms. [10:22] A slew of outside advisors to President Trump [10:26] are urging him to take control of federal elections [10:28] this November. [10:29] A key player in the scheme, according to The Atlantic, [10:31] is an attorney named Peter Tickton. [10:34] Tickton told The Atlantic magazine that Trump could decide [10:37] to declare martial law on or around Election Day. [10:41] Tickton is also the attorney for convicted election denier [10:44] Tina Peters. [10:45] She met with President Trump at the White House. [10:47] This is what Peter said about that meeting. [10:50] There is a plan. [10:53] Yesterday, when I was with the president, [10:55] he basically said to his lead counsel [10:59] to do what I was asking. [11:03] As a general rule, you never want to hear a bunch of crazy people [11:05] say the word, there's a plan. [11:07] You know, if you're on the subway and someone comes up to you [11:09] and says, hey, good news, there's a plan, [11:11] that's when you put your earbuds in [11:13] and you move to the other end of the car. [11:16] I've known a lot of crazy people in my life, [11:17] and the last thing you want them to do is plan something. [11:19] I mean, that's like 50% of Seinfeld episodes. [11:22] Like, Kramer bursts into Jerry's apartment and says, [11:24] I got a plan, Jerry. [11:25] And then Jerry says, so what's the plan? [11:29] And Kramer says, no more forks, Jerry. [11:30] From now on, I'm eating everything with my hands. [11:32] Then George decides to eat with his hands at work, [11:35] but he grosses out as his boss and he gets fired, [11:37] and he's like, I got fired, Jerry. [11:38] And Jerry's like, why? [11:39] And he's like, I win no forks. [11:40] And then Jerry says, you win no forks, [11:42] and now you forked yourself. [11:44] Now, who knows, who knows, who knows [11:52] if Trump will actually follow through with this plan. [11:54] And even if he does, it's not a foregone conclusion [11:57] that he'll succeed. [11:58] But at a speech on Tuesday, he gave an ominous shout-out [12:01] to one of his aides, a guy named Russ Vogt, [12:04] who Trump himself has called Darth Vader. [12:06] Director of the Office of Management and Budget, [12:10] Russ Vogt, who is fantastic. He's done a job. [12:13] We have some big surprises coming up [12:14] in another few weeks, right, Russ? [12:17] Well, if your big surprise is to try to steal the election, [12:20] I'll bet Russ wasn't too psyched about the call-out. [12:23] Trump's like a bank robber who freaks out [12:25] and immediately starts calling the other robbers out [12:27] by their real names. [12:28] Oh, man, he pressed the alarm. [12:29] What do we do, Kevin Johnson? [12:32] Kevin Johnson of Jamaica, Queens, middle initial Q. [12:35] What do we do? [12:37] Now, again, who the hell knows what this guy is talking about. [12:40] He could be describing an illegal scheme [12:43] to seize voting machines and declare martial law, [12:45] or he could be teasing another dumb renovation [12:47] that he's really excited about. [12:48] We're adding two giant disco balls [12:50] to the base of the Washington Monument. [12:53] Oh, real quick. [12:56] Can we zoom in on the background of that picture? [12:58] Oh, he did it. [13:03] Those reporters asked him, and he got the idea, [13:06] and he did it. [13:12] Trump is surrounded by people who tell him [13:14] he can do whatever he wants, [13:15] and he also thinks he's all-knowing, [13:17] as he explained at a rally in Ohio. [13:19] I know more about inflation. [13:20] I know more about everything than anybody in this room, [13:23] anybody anywhere in the world. [13:24] Well, there's a woman sitting right over there that... [13:27] She's a housewife, but she's very good. [13:28] She's got a natural instinct for business. [13:32] She perhaps knows more than I do, [13:33] but I actually don't think so. [13:41] For someone who knows more about anything [13:42] than anyone in the world, [13:44] it sure seems like you forgot that woman's name. [13:47] I'm all-powerful and all-knowing. [13:48] If you don't believe me, just ask. [13:51] Woman over there. [13:52] Housewife, she good. [13:56] She know where stare is. [14:00] She no-look at sun. [14:03] Also, no one believes that you know more about everything [14:07] than anybody anywhere in the world. [14:09] Until recently, you didn't even know the word dumb [14:12] ended with the letter B. [14:14] Democrats, dumb. [14:16] You take the B out. [14:17] Most people don't know that dumb has a B, okay? [14:20] All you do is take the E, you replace it with a U, [14:22] and nobody knows that there's a B. [14:24] Nobody knows there's a B in dumb. [14:26] They think it's D-U-M. [14:27] The word dumb doesn't think of it. [14:29] Most people don't know. [14:31] Dumb. [14:32] They all think that dumb doesn't have a B. [14:35] This is the iron law of Trump. [14:37] It's always been true. [14:38] Whenever he says most people don't know something, [14:40] it means he didn't know something. [14:43] Dumb is spelled with B. [14:45] I'm so shocked my hands are numb. [14:47] What? Another one? [14:52] So we have a president who's enamored with his own power [14:57] and thinks he knows all, which is kind of a bad combination, [15:00] especially since half the time, [15:02] we have no idea what the hell he's talking about. [15:03] As he illustrated on Monday with an offhand comment [15:06] in which he tried to argue that high gas prices [15:08] caused by the war in Iran were a small price to pay [15:12] to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. [15:14] But, as usual, he was incoherent. [15:16] And again, remember, with the war, it's just artificial. [15:19] It's a little bit high. [15:20] It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, [15:24] keeping our country safe. [15:25] They can take out a city. [15:27] Let them take out Los Angeles. [15:30] Let them take out San Diego. [15:32] This is a very small price to pay. [15:35] I think what Trump was trying to say is that Iran had [15:37] a nuclear weapon, they could take out Los Angeles or San Diego, [15:40] which is why the war and the high prices caused by the war [15:43] are a small price to pay in comparison. [15:45] But, real quick, why is it on us to translate [15:48] the president's words into plain English? [15:51] Thank God there wasn't a sign language interpreter up there. [15:53] They would have signed the words, I quit. [15:55] He's a singularly powerful person in a singularly powerful office, [16:00] so it's bad that he speaks in mangled, incoherent [16:02] half sentences that no one can understand [16:04] and works out premises on the fly like a comedian [16:07] at open-mic night, like, [16:08] All right, let's see, let's see what else. [16:10] All right, oh, yeah, hey, if Iran bombed anywhere, [16:12] I'd love it to be San Diego and SeaWorld, [16:17] just so we could see how high a nuke would make Shamu jump. [16:20] Okay, not that. [16:24] Even if it's true that Trump was saying Iran [16:26] shouldn't be able to nuke L.A. and San Diego, [16:28] it's bad that people can't understand what the hell [16:29] the president is saying on a daily basis. [16:32] This has happened many times before, [16:33] like when a reporter asked Trump if he would attend [16:36] his son Don Jr.'s wedding. [16:38] And again, he gave an answer that confused a lot of people. [16:41] Are you sending your son's wedding this weekend, by the way? [16:44] He'd like me to go, but it's going to be just [16:47] a small little private affair, and I'm going to try and make it. [16:50] I'm in the midst. [16:52] I said, you know, this is not good timing for me, [16:55] but he's got a very person who I've known for a long time, [17:00] and hopefully they're going to have a great marriage. [17:03] Now, now, many people thought he was describing his own son [17:08] as a person I've known for a long time [17:11] because he speaks in slurred, mangled, broken English [17:14] like he just drank a wine cooler mixed with NyQuil. [17:17] He was actually trying to say his son was marrying a person [17:20] he's known for a long time, and the confusion [17:22] overshadowed the much funnier aspect of this story, [17:25] which was Trump saying he's too busy to go [17:27] to his own son's wedding. [17:29] Trump didn't even say, I'd like to go. [17:30] He said, he'd like me to go, which is hilarious. [17:35] You're going to go to your son's wedding? [17:37] He's like, oh, yeah, he'd love that. [17:39] He can't even pretend to be bummed about it. [17:44] He's like a guy who gets an invite to a destination wedding, [17:46] and instead of making up an excuse, [17:48] just writes back too far. [17:51] If the president cannot speak in clear, coherent sentences [17:54] that everyone can understand, that's bad, [17:56] especially when he's enamored with his own power [17:58] and surrounded by people who tell him [18:00] he can do whatever he wants, which is why voters are furious. [18:02] They think Trump is dangerous, corrupt, and... [18:04] Dumb. [18:05] This has been A Closer Look.