Seth Meyers tries to preview President Trump's big speech to Congress

Seth Meyers tries to preview Trump speech before Congress

(Image credit: Late Night)

published 28 February 2017

"President Trump will address Congress for the first time on Tuesday to discuss his agenda," Seth Meyers said on Monday's Late Night, "which could be difficult, since his agenda so far has consisted largely of complaints about the media." Trump previewed his big speech on Monday, he noted, "and as is customary for any Trump appearance, it was a little all over the place." In discussing his big infrastructure plan, for example, Trump talked about tiles in New York City's Lincoln Tunnel, and when he brought up replacing ObamaCare, he made a rather stunning admission. "Nobody knew health care could be so complicated?" Meyers said. "The only way that sentence could be more terrifying is if you heard it just as the anesthesia was kicking in."

"Then there's the question of what kind of tone we can expect from Trump's speech tomorrow," Meyers said. "Up to now, when Trump has discussed actual policy, he usually does so in bleak terms, as he did in his inaugural address." When asked about Trump's doom-and-gloom inaugural on Monday morning, former President George W. Bush laughed, then launched into an unexpected defense of a free press.

Meyers noted that Trump often ditches his press pool, as he did for dinner out at a Trump hotel on Saturday night, as recorded by a conservative journalist tipped off beforehand. That was mostly a setup to discuss the most salient details of the dinner. "Okay, he ordered a well-done steak and put ketchup on it, and he thinks SNL is filmed at 8:45," Meyers said. "We've officially elected everybody's grandpa." Then he brought it home: "Tomorrow's a huge opportunity for Trump. He has the chance to sell Americans on his agenda rather than whine about the free press, and he will have the weight of history on his shoulders." Meyers ended with some soaring words from W., circa 2000. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.