Seth Meyers: ‘Democrats need to choose a path now’

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The late-night hosts discussed coverage of Joe Biden’s NATO press conference and the White House’s response to George Clooney’s article calling for the new Democratic nominee.

Seth Meyers

Seth Meyers continues to examine Joe Biden’s fragile candidacy after his debate performance, ahead of a NATO press conference aimed at reassuring worried voters. Meanwhile, Trump spent time at a campaign rally talking about how he didn’t know what NATO was before he became president.

“This guy brags about how dumb he is, but he’s still ahead in the polls,” Meyers said on Thursday’s late-night show. “That’s why more and more Democrats are calling for Biden to make way for someone who has a better chance of winning.”

One of them is actor George Clooney, who this week published an op-ed in The New York Times titled: “I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Candidate.”

Clooney is backing a new candidate, saying the Joe Biden he spoke with at a fundraiser earlier this month was the same vacillating candidate seen at the debate. The White House responded this week by saying Clooney left the fundraiser three hours before the president.

“Your criticism of Clooney is that he left a fundraiser three hours early?” Meyers laughed. “Oh! He has better places to be. This is George Clooney! You think he needs to stay and ask for money at a fundraiser? He already has the money.”

“Maybe this should be an inspiration,” Meyers continued. “Maybe the only way Biden can win this fight is to assemble a team of bank-robbing experts, Ocean’s Eleven style. Gavin Newsom, the soft-spoken spokesman. Pete Buttigieg, the safecracking expert. And Kamala Harris, a gifted card counter who poses as a drunken aunt at the craps table.”

Jokes aside, Meyers’ diagnosis of the moments leading up to Biden’s press conference is crucial for Democrats, who need to stick with Biden or choose a new candidate. “Democrats have a very, very strong case to oppose Donald Trump’s toxic and deeply unpopular agenda,” he concluded. “But the turmoil surrounding Biden’s candidacy has overshadowed everything. There is still time to turn things around, but the Democratic Party needs to choose a path now and start turning things around.”

Stephen Colbert

“This is a critical moment,” Stephen Colbert said on “The Late Show” before Biden’s news conference. “He has to prove that despite his age, he’s still energetic and ready to serve.

“I’m supporting Joe Biden,” Colbert added. “I hope it’s dynamic enough to surprise everybody. I hope it’s levitating. I hope he picks up a manhole cover and throws it 400 yards. I hope he pulls an 18-wheeler with his teeth, which I think he can do because he may be 81, but his teeth aren’t old enough to vote.”

He noted that “not everyone believes Biden can succeed,” including several senior Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who publicly supports the president, has privately told donors that he is open to running for president without Biden.

Despite Biden’s steadfast insistence that he will stay in the race and win, NBC News reports that his campaign is quietly assessing Kamala Harris’ viability against Donald Trump in a new one-on-one poll. “Don’t let Joe catch you doing this, guys,” Colbert joked.

And The New York Times reported that some of Biden’s advisers are discussing how to convince him to give up his seat. “It’s not easy,” Colbert said. “They’re thinking about hanging a Klondike ice cream cone on a rope and slowly pulling it down Pennsylvania Avenue.”

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