After millions of people turned out for nationwide No Kings protests against President Trump over the weekend, the president responded by threatening to send more US troops into US cities. It was a bit ironic for Seth Meyers, who called the reaction just a “reminder as to why” the country needed a No Kings protest.
With protests in every city on Saturday, it’s estimated that roughly 7 million people came out in total. To kick off his “A Closer Look” segment, Meyers marveled at the size of the protests, especially in cities like Boston.
“There hasn’t been a crowd that big in Boston since Dunkin’ held a promotion called ‘Win a Free Munchkin Every Time you Scream ‘Jeter Sucks!” They were out of munchkins before 7 a.m.” Meyers joked.
The NBC host then turned his attention to Trump’s response to the rallies, which included calling the protestors “whacked out” people.
“What do you mean they were whacked out? I mean, most of the protesters I saw were grandmas playing banjos, inflatable frogs,” Meyers said. “You sound like a Staten Island dad explaining why Uncle Gino can’t make it to Christmas. ‘Yeah, he’s whacked out on pills.’”
Trump also threatened to use the Insurrection Act against protestors, saying that it’s “unquestioned power.”
“I like how his response to the No Kings rally is a reminder as to why it was a good idea to have a No Kings rally,” Meyers retorted. “‘I’m no king, and I shall prove it with my unquestioned power!’”
“Also, that is obviously not with the Insurrection Act says,” he continued. “It’s a law from 1792 that gives the President the power to use the military to enforce domestic laws, which is bad enough, but it doesn’t give him unquestioned power and make court cases go away.”
You can watch Seth Meyers’ full “A Closer Look” segment in the video above.
