Seth Meyers: 'I am the reason' Trump became president

pulse

February 9, 2017 6:44 PM

Seth Meyers says he is responsible for stoking Donald Trump's ambition to run for president with his mocking comments years ago.

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Seth Meyers appeared on his friend and former "Saturday Night Live" colleague Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight Show" on Wednesday and contended that it was he who compelled Donald Trump to run for president, ultimately resulting in Trump's electoral victory.

Meyers made the claim while discussing Fallon's much-criticized interview with Trump in September.

Fallon was critiqued for asking softball questions of Trump that made the Republican presidential nominee appear likable, topping it all off with a playful messing up of the candidate's mysteriously coiffed hair.

"I was insulted by the reaction," Meyers said. "I know after that happened, you took some heat. People said you are the reason he won. And I'm so insulted about that, because I am the reason he won."

The "Late Night" host, who has been a very vocal critic of Trump, said his and President Barack Obama's mocking comments at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner regarding Trump's potential for a presidential run stoked the businessman's decision to throw his hat in the ring. At the time, those jokes seemed to set off Trump.

"I made fun of him in 2011," Meyers said. "That's the night he decided to run. I kicked the hornet's nest — you just rubbed the hornet's head. It's not the outcome I wanted, but that's history. I got a man elected president. I want my points."

Meyers wasn't the first to suggest he had a role in Trump's presidential bid; the 2011 dinner was a major part of a New York Times article from March examining Trump's decision to run.

Watch Meyers discuss Trump starting at about 4:30 below:

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