Name: Seth Meyers Urges Democrats to Fight Trump’s Attempts to Steal the Election
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Seth Meyers Urges Democrats to Fight Trump’s Attempts to Steal the Election

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One day after President Donald Trump refused to endorse a peaceful transition of power were he to lose the presidential election in November—an incendiary comment Trump repeated on Thursday—Seth Meyers was left feeling fearful about the future of American democracy.“We’re as close as we’ve ever been to losing our democracy and watching our government transform into an autocratic regime,” Meyers said on Thursday’s episode of Late Night. “It’s happening right in front of our eyes, right now. You don’t need to wait for Trump to roll down Pennsylvania Avenue on a tank in green fatigues with a long chin beard.”For weeks, Trump has sought to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election, literally telling his supporters in August, “The only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.” When asked this week about whether he would “commit here today for a peaceful transferral of power after the November election,” Trump declined to do so.“We’re going to have to see what happens,” the president on Wednesday. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster. Get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very peaceful—there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There will be a continuation.”Asked on Thursday if he wanted to walk back that explosive statement, Trump similarly demurred. “We want to make sure that the election is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be,” Trump without evidence.“All right, I’ll take it back, he probably will grow that dictator beard,” joked Meyers during Late Night.“Trump is threatening violence unless we get rid of the ballots, he’s threatening a coup d’etat,” Meyers added. “Even though I’m sure he has no idea what the phrase coup d’etat means. He probably thinks it’s a lyric from Moulin Rouge.” He then impersonated Trump misquoting the musical: “Voulez-vouz coucher coup d’etat, ce soir?”“A truly treacherous moment, yet we can still enjoy a Moulin Rouge joke,” Meyers said.On Wednesday night, when asked about Trump’s election comments, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said, “What country are we in? I'm being facetious. … Look, he says the most irrational things. I don't know what to say, but it doesn’t surprise me.”But while Biden and other prominent Democratic officials, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, have Trump for his remarks, Meyers said he wished more members of the party were treating the election “like this is the emergency it is.”“They’re about as effective as the receptionist on Law & Order who says, ‘Hey, you can’t go in there,’ while they’re going in there,” Meyers said. “Democrats should be grinding the gears of government to a halt until the Republican party vows to respect the election outcome and commit to a peaceful transition of power.”He added, “Democrats should be holding highly publicized hearings about this, they should be slowing down senate business, doing everything possible to force Republicans to commit to honor the results of the election. Because Trump clearly will not. He’s said as much repeatedly over the last few weeks and yet we all just kind of sigh and move on with our lives. Whenever he screams something about mail-in ballots or rigged election, we’re all like tourists rolling up our car windows in Times Square.”Meyers concluded his segment with a plea for Democrats to step up in the face of Trump’s attempts to invalidate the election, as well as the Republican Party’s push to add another conservative justice to the Supreme Court before November.“This is the moment when elected Democrats need to do everything possible to preserve our democracy—hold hearings, slow down Senate business, pour salt on Ted Cruz—whatever you have to do to get Republicans to commit to honor the results of the election,” he said. “Because right now, they’re openly advertising their plan to steal it while the president refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.”Where to Watch Late Night:All products featured on Vanity Fair are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.More Great Stories From Vanity Fair— Charlie Kaufman’s Confounding — Inside With Dementia— This Documentary Will Make You — Amid Protests and Pandemic— What Is It About ?— Catherine O’Hara on Moira Rose’s — Review: Is a Dull Reflection of the Original— From the Archive: The Women Who Built Looking for more? for our daily Hollywood newsletter and never miss a story. is a contributing writer at Vanity Fair.From the awards race to the box office, with everything in between: get the entertainment industry's must-read newsletter.

One day after President Donald Trump refused to endorse a peaceful transition of power were he to lose the presidential election in November—an incendiary comment Trump repeated on Thursday—Seth Meyers was left feeling fearful about the future of American democracy.“We’re as close as we’ve ever been to losing our democracy and watching our government transform into an autocratic regime,” Meyers said on Thursday’s episode of Late Night. “It’s happening right in front of our eyes, right now. You don’t need to wait for Trump to roll down Pennsylvania Avenue on a tank in green fatigues with a...

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Christopher Rosen

Vanity Fair is a monthly magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast in the United States.  The first version of Vanity Fair was published from 1913 to 1936. The imprint was revived in 1983 and currently includes five international editions of the magazine. As of 2018, the Editor-in-Chief is Radhika Jones.

Seth Meyers Urges Democrats to Fight Trump’s Attempts to Steal the Election

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