Donald Trump’s ‘Daddy’ Comments Have Shaken Seth Meyers to His Core
The “Late Night” host does not approve of Trump’s new nickname.
Seth Meyers was deeply disturbed by a press conference Wednesday where Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, seemingly referred to President Donald Trump as “Daddy.”
Meyers showed a clip of Rutte defending Trump’s f-bomb response to the ongoing Iran/Israel conflict, saying about Trump, “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language.”
Meyers then showed a clip of Trump being asked about the comment later that day.
Trump responded, “I think [Rutte] likes me. If he doesn’t, I’ll let you know. I’ll come back and I’ll hit him hard, OK? He did it very [affectionately], ‘Daddy, you’re my daddy.’”
When the clip ended, the show cut back to Meyers with intense revulsion on his face.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“Why is anyone calling him ‘daddy’?” Meyers asked.
Meyers added, “Why is he calling himself 'daddy’? Am I watching a NATO summit or a soft-core Cinemax movie from the ’80s called Donnie’s Romp Through Holland?"
Meyers continued, “Can you imagine how happy Trump was when an actual world leader called him ‘daddy’?”
“He probably shot...” Meyers said, before showing an out-of-context clip from earlier in the monologue where Trump yelled, “The biggest load that we’ve seen!”
“No, you grow up!” Meyers jokingly yelled at the audience. “You were thinking it. We showed it, but you were thinking it.”
While Meyers was grossed out by all the daddy talk around Trump, Rutte himself has clarified that he didn’t intend to call Trump “daddy.”
“The ‘daddy’ thing, I didn’t call him ‘daddy,’” Rutte said. “What I said is that sometimes, in Europe, I hear sometimes countries saying, ‘Hey, Mark, will the U.S. stay with us?’ And I said that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, ‘Hey, are you still staying with the family?’”
“So in that sense, I used ‘daddy’—not that I was calling President Trump daddy,” Rutte explained.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.