Seth Meyers has never been one to hold back when it comes to political satire, and his latest response to President Donald Trump’s social media attacks proved once again why he’s one of late night’s sharpest voices. On the Nov. 3 episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, the 51-year-old host addressed Trump’s latest tirade on Truth Social, where the former president called Meyers “deranged” and “the least talented person to perform live in the history of television.”
For most people, being personally insulted by a former president might sting. For Meyers, however, it was just another Monday night. The comedian treated the attack less as an outrage and more as comedic fuel—using Trump’s own words to underscore the absurdity of their feud and, more importantly, redirect the conversation back to real national issues.
Trump’s latest comments were apparently provoked by a segment in which Meyers mocked his recent trip to Asia. During that trip, Trump had gone on an extended tangent about the U.S. Navy’s use of steam-powered versus electric catapults on aircraft carriers—a topic that, somehow, became one of his favorite metaphors for American decline. On Truth Social, Trump fumed that Meyers was “100% anti-Trump,” which he bizarrely suggested was “probably illegal.”
When Meyers took to the airwaves, he seemed amused more than anything else. “What matters far less is when the president posts about me—which he did over the weekend,” Meyers told his audience during his A Closer Look segment. “He said I may be the ‘least talented person to perform live in the history of television,’ called me a ‘deranged lunatic,’ and said I ‘talked endlessly about electric catapults on aircraft carriers.’” Then, with a smirk, he delivered the punchline that would make headlines: “You can say I’m untalented, you can say I’m deranged. But I’m not the one who talks endlessly about catapults on aircraft carriers! You’re the one who talks endlessly about catapults on aircraft carriers!”
That blend of wit and precision is classic Meyers—turning an insult into a boomerang that hits back harder than it was thrown.
A Long-Running Feud
This wasn’t the first time Trump had gone after Seth Meyers. Their public animosity dates back to before Trump’s presidency, with a particularly memorable moment in 2011 when Meyers roasted Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. That event, according to some insiders, infamously infuriated Trump and may have contributed to his later decision to run for president.
More recently, in August, Trump lashed out again after learning NBC had renewed Meyers’ Late Night contract. On Truth Social, he slammed the host’s ratings, personality, and intelligence, claiming that Meyers had “the personality of an insecure child.” The attack was vintage Trump: a mix of hyperbole, name-calling, and an insistence that his critics were irrelevant yet somehow threatening.
Meyers, however, has long been unfazed by such rhetoric. During Monday’s episode, he shrugged it off with his trademark dry humor. “You can say whatever you want about me,” he said. “That is your First Amendment right, which I have too, right? We all have it, right?” It was both a reminder of constitutional principle and a quiet rebuke to Trump’s suggestion that being “anti-Trump” could somehow be illegal.
Late Night’s Larger Battle
Meyers’ remarks came amid a tense climate for late-night television and free speech. Just weeks earlier, the industry had been shaken when Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group announced they would stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! on their local ABC affiliates. The move followed backlash over comments Kimmel made criticizing “the MAGA gang” in the wake of a politically charged shooting incident.
Critics accused Kimmel of misrepresenting facts about the shooter’s political affiliations, leading to pressure from the Federal Communications Commission. ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Sept. 17, but following public outcry—and statements of solidarity from other late-night hosts including Meyers, Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and David Letterman—the network reversed course. The show returned to air on Sept. 22.
The episode underscored how political comedy has become a battleground in modern American discourse. For Meyers, it was a reminder that satire’s role has never been more vital—or more under threat.
Humor Meets Substance
While Meyers used Trump’s insults for comedic fodder, he also used the moment to pivot toward issues he feels matter far more. “The president is jeopardizing food assistance for tens of millions of Americans,” he said during the segment. “What matters far less is when the president posts about me.”
That wasn’t just a throwaway line. Meyers was referring to the ongoing government shutdown and its effect on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). For the first time in the program’s 60-year history, benefits had lapsed on Nov. 1, leaving more than 42 million Americans—roughly 12% of the population—without assistance.
“Working families are struggling while you renovate your bathroom and you build your ballroom,” Meyers said, in one of the episode’s most cutting moments. The jab referred to reports that Trump had recently undertaken lavish renovations at Mar-a-Lago and his New Jersey estate, even as millions of Americans were feeling the consequences of federal budget gridlock.
Satire as Public Service
What makes Meyers’ response stand out isn’t just his comedic timing—it’s his insistence on steering political humor back to accountability. His show has long blended sharp satire with substantive commentary, often using laughter as a Trojan horse for civic awareness.
In this case, he took Trump’s personal attack and turned it into a moment to remind viewers of the stakes beyond ego wars. “Tomorrow, by the way, I’m probably gonna wake up to a Trump post that says, ‘Seth Meyers won’t stop talking about the White House bathrooms!’” Meyers joked. “But also like, who am I kidding? He’s not gonna watch two shows in a row.”
Behind the humor, though, was frustration familiar to many Americans: a sense that important policy discussions are being drowned out by personality-driven drama. “I don’t want to talk about catapults. I don’t want to talk about bathrooms,” he said. “But that’s what you do to us. You make us talk about what you’re talking about, and then we all sound crazy.”
It’s a clever diagnosis of modern political discourse—one dominated by outrage cycles and social media spectacles, where attention often eclipses substance.
A Culture of Distraction
Meyers’ monologue captured the absurdity of the Trump era’s lingering influence on media. Even after leaving the White House, Trump remains a dominant figure in American pop culture, often shaping the very conversations his critics wish would move on.
Late-night comedians like Meyers have become both commentators and combatants in that ecosystem. Each tweet, post, or soundbite from Trump can set off a cascade of responses across the media landscape, forcing hosts to choose between ignoring the noise or engaging with it for the sake of clarity—or comedy.
Meyers’ decision to respond with a mix of humor and moral clarity felt like an attempt to strike that balance. His jokes reminded viewers of Trump’s peculiar obsessions, but his focus on issues like SNAP benefits redirected the conversation toward people whose stories rarely make headlines.
Standing Firm
In the end, Meyers’ message was simple: he’s not going to stop speaking his mind, no matter how many insults come his way. “You can say whatever you want about me,” he reiterated. “That’s your right. But I’m going to keep saying what I think matters.”
His latest exchange with Trump may not change any minds among the president’s loyalists, but it reinforces why Meyers remains an important voice in late-night television. In an era when entertainers often find themselves at the center of political controversy, Meyers continues to blend humor with conscience—mocking the powerful not just for laughs, but for accountability.
As for Trump, his attacks may have backfired once again. Instead of discrediting his critic, they gave Meyers another platform to showcase the intelligence, humor, and empathy that have kept him relevant long after the nightly ratings wars have faded into background noise.
In the closing moments of his monologue, Meyers didn’t waste time celebrating the feud or trading insults. He simply reminded his viewers why his show exists: not to win arguments online, but to make sense of the chaos with a little laughter and a lot of truth.
And in that spirit, his parting shot landed exactly where it needed to—somewhere between humor and humanity. “Working families are struggling,” he said softly. “And while some people are busy renovating their bathrooms, the rest of us are just trying to keep the lights on.”
With that, he smiled, took a sip from his mug, and let the laughter from the audience fade into the silence that only the truth can leave behind.
