Seth Meyers spent Thursday night breaking down just how difficult it has become for Republicans to defend President Donald Trump. But that hasn’t stopped Fox News host Sean Hannity from trying.
“The problem for Republicans is that the facts are so clear, there’s nothing they can say or do to defend them,” the Late Night host said. As an example, he pointed to the words Trump used on his phone call with the president of Ukraine: “I would like you to do us a favor, though.”
That “would seem like a classic quid pro quo,” Meyers said before revealing how Hannity “tried out a new, even dumber defense” of the president. He summed it up as, “It’s not a crime, because that’s just how Trump talks.”
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Earlier this week, Hannity characterized “do us a favor” as one of Trump’s “go-to phrases,” adding, “You know, I say, ‘you know,’ a lot. The president uses them all the time. Kind of a verbal aside.”
“That’s your argument?!” Meyers asked in disbelief. “That saying ‘do us a favor’ to a foreign leader is equivalent to you saying ‘ya know?’”
Taking Hannity’s point to its next logical conclusion, the host continued, “You have to understand, Trump says ‘do us a favor’ the way Valley Girls say ‘like’ or how Jesse Pinkman says ‘bitch’ all the time. It doesn’t mean he’s a criminal, that’s just how he talks.”
“Also, he’s a criminal,” he added.