Seth Meyers: Trump's comments on the press show he's a 'lazy wannabe dictator'

published 12 October 2017

President Trump lashed out on the press Wednesday, accusing NBC News of spreading "fake news" with its report that Trump wanted to increase the nuclear arsenal "tenfold," but it was his follow-up that really irritated Seth Meyers.

In front of reporters at the White House, Trump said "it's frankly disgusting how the press is able to write whatever they want to write, and people should look into it." "People should look into it?" an incredulous Meyers repeated on Wednesday's Late Night. "Not only is he a wannabe dictator, he's a lazy wannabe dictator. It's not that hard to look into it; it's literally the First Amendment."

Meyers didn't just focus on Trump lamenting the fact that the United States has a free press; he also touched on Republicans who believe Trump is unstable, the similarities between Trump's presidency and a Rotten Tomatoes review of Jackass, and who has the higher IQ: Trump or Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. "I'm willing to bet any Rex would beat [Trump] in an IQ test, and most Rexes are dogs," Meyers said. Watch the video below. Catherine Garcia

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox