Seth Meyers Has Some Tough Words for Obama After Trump Victory

In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, Seth Meyers was largely uninterested in the “finger-pointing” going on within the Democratic party. He did, however, have some advice for Democratic leaders: Take a cue from Trump’s boasting.

Meyers showed an October rally clip from Barack Obama, where the former president criticized Trump for putting his name on the stimulus checks Americans received during the pandemic.

Obama said, “Joe Biden sent you a check during the pandemic, just like I gave people relief during the Great Recession. The thing is, we didn’t put our name on it.”

“OK, but you should have. Like, next time, put your name on it,” Meyers said. “Seriously, Joe Biden should have sent everyone $1,000 in the mail and called it Biden Bucks.”

“It’s not an issue of left versus far left,” Meyers argued. “You just have to make people’s lives better in a way that’s direct and easy to understand, and then aggressively take credit for it.”

Meyers explained, “Take Obamacare. It’s great. In the polls, people say they love it. They want to keep it, but polls also show they’re sometimes confused by it or don’t even know they have it. So next time, make it easy. Just pass a universal health care plan and send everyone a little ID card in the mail that says ‘Obamacare,’ or ‘A Democrat gave this to you. Please remember that, OK?’”

On a hopeful note, Meyers added, “There are lessons Democrats can take away from this election, and if they implement those lessons quickly, a lot can change. Remember after Trump’s first win in 2016, Democrats won big in 2018, 2020, and 2022.”

Meyers was also unconvinced by the argument that Kamala Harris lost because she was too far-left.

“You think Kamala Harris was too far left? She campaigned with Liz Cheney,” Meyers replied, soon adding, “I mean, she praised Dick Cheney for crying out loud.”

For more, listen to Seth Meyers on the 2024 campaign and his role as a political late-night comedian covering it on The Last Laugh podcast.