Seth Meyers has ripped into Donald Trump over his failed campaign promise to build a border wall in the face of claims he is a "political genius," dubbing the president a "weird, weird man."
On Thursday night's Late Night with Seth Meyers "A Closer Look" segment, the host cited an interview from January where Trump advisor Stephen Millerclaimed the president was a "political genius."
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But Meyers countered the claim with examples of Trump's behavior and missteps from the past year, from his description of Hurricane Florence as "tremendously big and tremendously wet" in September to his embrace of the American flag in June.
"In the almost 12 months since that comment [by Miller], Trump has rambled at length about how people in Finland rake the floors of the forest, left an umbrella outside when he couldn't figure out how to close it [and] got on Air Force One with toilet paper stuck to his shoe," said Meyers.
"The president is just a weird, weird man. He's like a space alien with a head injury who just took his first bong rip."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, fellow human," he said, impersonating the president's voice over footage of him shaking hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "I am enjoying the traditional Earth greeting of shaking hands for exactly one full minute," Meyers joked.
Cutting to a clip of the president wrapping his arms around the American flag following an anti-immigration speech at the National Federation of Independent Business in June, he said: "And now let us all display our patriotism by engaging in the customary hugging of the flag. I am normal!"
The presenter then pointed out Trump's failure to start building a wall, one of the centerpieces of his presidential campaign, as basis for calling into question his status as a "political genius."
"But you'd think a political genius could at least figure out a way to deliver on the one thing he repeatedly told his supporters he would absolutely do, and that's build the wall," argued Meyers.
Trump's threat to shut down the government over funding for his planned wall, which would hit tonight if the Senate rejects a spending bill, is a sign that he fears for his presidency amid a backdrop of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and various scandals.
"He's hoping he can salvage his presidency by threatening a shutdown over his wall," argued Meyers. "I'm not saying he's scared, but his pants are tremendously wet."
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Kashmira Gander is Deputy Science Editor at Newsweek. Her interests include health, gender, LGBTQIA+ issues, human rights, subcultures, music, and lifestyle. Her ... Read more
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