Seth Meyers Admits Donald Trump Was The Complete Opposite On And Off Camera During SNL

Summary

• Seth Meyers revealed Donald Trump's defensive response to SNL pitches, but willingness to poke fun at himself for audience approval.
• Lorne Michaels granted special privileges to Trump during SNL appearances, but Trump's refusal to play along led to his eventual ban.
• Stephen Colbert agreed with Meyers, stating Trump's off-camera persona was different from his on-camera persona, changing once in front of a live audience.

It is a common theme with Howard Stern, at one point or another, Donald Trump comes up. That was especially the case during Trump's run as President. In particular, Stern asked Seth Meyers about his experience with Donald during his time on SNL.

Seth Meyers made quite the reveal, stating that Trump appeared to be very different on and off camera. We'll reveal what Seth had to say, and how Trump reacted to creative ideas behind the scenes. In addition, we'll reveal Trump's history with SNL, and how things took a problematic turn along the way, despite Lorne Michaels trying to help him out and improve his public image.

We'll conclude by revealing another late night host that agreed with Seth Meyers, and said Trump had different personas on and off camera.

Seth Meyers Claims Donald Trump Was Defensive About SNL Pitches, But Completely Open Once He Saw A Reaction From The Audience

Back in 2019, Seth Meyers discussed Donald Trump hosting SNL, during his interview alongside Howard Stern. At the time, Trump was President. Meyers got to work with Trump back in 2004. Meyers didn't look overly thrilled about his time with Trump, especially creatively. Meyers felt like Trump wasn't understanding the humor, and didn't want to be made fun of. However, in front of the audience, it was a different story, and Trump was willing to poke fun at himself, as long as it got a reaction out of the audience.

Meyers tells Stern, "It was fascinating to be around him. He was everything you would think. He didn't have any sense of humor, but if things worked, he liked them."

Meyers went on to detail that Donald needed a full explanation of why certain jokes would work.

"Even then, it was all about how the audience responded. It is the same way he is with rally's now. He says build a wall because it worked."

Meyers concluded that some hosts don't care if they bomb, as long as they like the material. It was the exact opposite for Trump, who didn't care what was being said, as long as he got a reaction from the audience.

Meyers' bumpy history with Trump hasn't changed since the 2019 interview, as Donald is often on the wrong end of jokes during Late Night with Seth Meyers. Fans also appreciated Seth's honesty in telling the story of Donald's time on SNL.

A fan wrote, "I like Seth's honesty. "Trump is more peeved at SNL." Also, as much as Seth is fantastic SNL is a bigger deal and Trump focuses on the bright shiny object which is SNL. Seth understands this and also gets it works for him in that he can do his thing and sort of get away with it as SNL is the big man on campus and takes all the heat."

Seth has a point, as Trump has been very critical of SNL over the years.

Donald Trump Was Given Special Privileges By Lorne Michaels During His Time On The Show

SNL cast member Taran Killam detailed the creative part of Trump's SNL appearance. It was said that Lorne Michaels was very specific with what could and could not be said.

• “Lorne was being so specific about what we could and couldn’t say about [Trump], and he was dictating a lot of the settings," Killam revealed.
• “Lorne was like, ‘It’ll be too old news by then, and you know, you don’t want to vilify him. He’s like any New York taxi driver. I know him, I’ve seen him around at parties for years and years, and he just says whatever it is he’s thinking. And that’s his thing. But you have to find a way in that makes him likable."

Despite the treatment, the mood started to sour after an idea was pitched to put Trump in a tree. In turn, that caused Trump to ban SNL.

Writer Bryan Tucker recalled, "We did do a dress-rehearsal sketch where he was the Giving Tree, and the Giving Tree was giving fruit to a boy. And eventually the Giving Tree got completely chopped down and was a stump, and Trump was a neighboring tree saying, "You're a sucker, you're getting played, you should not be giving things to these people."

"And Trump had to stand in a tree with his face looking out of the hole of this tree, and he did not like that. I don't think he enjoyed looking like a tree. He was not into it and it showed, and it did not get a lot of laughs."

In recent years, Trump has put SNL on blast for its ratings.

"I once hosted Saturday Night Live, and the ratings were HUUUGE! Now, however, the ratings are lower than ever before, and the show will probably be put to “rest.” It is just not, at these levels, sustainable - A bad show that’s not funny or smart. L.M. is angry and exhausted, the show even more so. It was once good, never great, but now, like the Late Night Losers who have lost their audience but have no idea why, it is over for SNL - A great thing for America!"

The two sides clearly won't be working together any time soon...

Stephen Colbert Also Admitted Donald Trump Had A Different Persona Off Camera

It is hard to believe, but Stephen Colbert once featured Donald Trump on The Late Show. Although he was a mainstay with David Letterman on the show, it was a different reality with Colbert, who constantly bashed him, and that continues today. As for the interview itself, Colbert agreed with Meyers that Trump was completely different on and off camera. Colbert felt as though Trump completely changed once he was in front of a live audience.

• "Backstage, he's just like some guy you might meet at a club. I mean 'country club,' not like disco. He's very clubbish and he's kind of innocuous in a way. There's nothing particularly remarkable about him."
• "Then he puts on a persona for a camera, and the persona he gave me when he was on the show the first time was actually very quiet and very reserved."

Despite the interview bringing in millions of views online, Colbert won't be doing it again.

"I did once. I wouldn't want to anymore," Colbert said. "He was actually kind of disappointing. He played 'the reasonable man.' He's always kinda in persona mode. Sometimes he plays, like, the 'rallying populist' and other times he plays the 'reasonable man."

Yet another late night talk show host to ban Donald Trump.