On Late Night, Seth Meyers takes a closer look at the Department of Homeland Security spending millions on TV ads featuring Donald Trump. Critics, including some Republicans, have called them unethical and possibly illegal. Meyers plays Trump's answer to a reporter, that he isn't promoting himself but "the spirit of our country," then mocks the ominous black-and-white ad.
The receipt
- Who
- Seth Meyers
- Where
- monologue - Late Night with Seth Meyers
- Original footage
- Late Night with Seth Meyers · watch the full video from this moment
- Length
- 60 seconds, unedited within the cut
Read the transcript
Critics have said using taxpayer money to air campaign ads is unethical and possibly illegal, and even Republicans are speaking out against it. But Trump has a foolproof explanation. They can't be campaign ads because he is not running for anything. DHS is spending millions of dollars on new ads about you, and your critics say those ads might violate federal propaganda laws. Why should you, as taxpayers, be for them? Well, I'm not running for office, first of all. And so the ads are, you know, given by me. But I'm not running for office. When I'm talking about making America great, making our country great, that's a countrywide ad. That's an ad for the spirit of our country. I'm not promoting a candidate. I'm not promoting myself because I'm not running for office. I'm promoting the country. Sorry, that's an ad promoting the spirit of the country, that ominous black -and -white ad? Would you lurking down a hallway while terrifying music plays if it's promoting anything, it's the spirit of Halloween.
Machine transcript of the clip's audio; names are checked, small words may differ.