NBC’s Seth Meyers reacted on Late Night to President Trump’s State of the Union address on Wednesday by attacking him for condemning Democrats for not standing up and applauding and for allegedly trying to “co-opt” Team USA's men's hockey gold medal for himself. In both cases, Meyers left out some crucial context.
Meyers introduced a clip of Trump by lamenting, “And yet despite the fact that it strained everyone's attention spans, Trump expected everyone—everyone—to leap to their feet and applaud for him, including the Democrats. And his feelings were very hurt when they didn't.”
In the clip, Trump observed, “Look, nobody stands up. These people are crazy. I'm telling you. They're crazy.”
Seth Meyers's State of the Union reaction has him declaring "Trump expected everyone—everyone to leap to their feet and applaud for him, including the Democrats. And his feelings were very hurt when they didn't." (The clip Meyers introduced was about Trump calling for a ban on… pic.twitter.com/YIBgKhT3oG
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 26, 2026
Meyers reacted by breaking out his Trump impression, “These people are crazy. They said electric boat batteries cause shark attacks. They called Hannibal Lecter a wonderful man. They sent a hospital boat to Greenland for no reason. Oh, I real—those are all things I did. I'm hearing myself now and realizing maybe I'm the crazy one. Let's see, pull up a pic of my face and tell me if I look crazy. Oh, it's me. I'm the crazy one."
What Meyers didn’t mention is that the context for that clip was Trump calling for a ban on gender transitions for children.
Nevertheless, Meyers kept rolling, “In fact, Trump is so desperate for a win, he tried to co-opt the U.S. men's hockey team's Olympic gold medal like he had something to do with it.”
Another clip of Trump showed him declaring, “Our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it. People are asking me, ‘Please, please, please, Mr. President, we're winning too much. We can't take it anymore. We're not used to winning in our country until you came along. We're just always losing. But now we're winning too much.’ And I say, ‘No, no, no. You're going to win again, you're going to win big. You're going to win bigger than ever.’ And to prove that point—to prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud, the men's gold medal Olympic hockey team.”
Meyers wasn’t having it, “Hey, man. You're not winning. They're winning. You didn't win [bleep]. I didn't see you out there lacing up your skates, taking slap shots with your weird Death Becomes Her hand—although maybe the hand showed up by itself and scored a goal.”
Again, Meyers left out some crucial context. When the Miracle team beat the Soviets, President Jimmy Carter also called them after the game and later welcomed them to the White House after they won the gold. Nobody thought that was a big deal because the president is the leader of the country, whether you voted for him or not. Trump’s impression of someone he had a conversation with is just not a big deal.
He concluded by recapping, “Trump used this speech the way he uses all of his speeches, as a vehicle to attack anyone who doesn't bend the knee. And since that's a majority of the country, his polling is terrible. Republicans think the strategy is working, but that's only because—”
The sentence was punctuated by the clip of Trump saying, “They’re crazy.”
Based on Democrats’ reaction to a proposed ban on transitioning children and late night’s descent into madness on Trump’s relationships with the men’s and women’s hockey teams, “they’re crazy” is an appropriate observation.
Here is a transcript for the February 25-taped show:
NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers
2/26/2026
12:53 AM ET
SETH MEYERS: And yet despite the fact that it strained everyone's attention spans, Trump expected everyone—everyone to leap to their feet and applaud for him, including the Democrats. And his feelings were very hurt when they didn't.
DONALD TRUMP: Look, nobody stands up. These people are crazy. I'm telling you. They're crazy.
MEYERS: [Trump voice] "These people are crazy. They said electric boat batteries cause shark attacks. They called Hannibal Lecter a wonderful man. They sent a hospital boat to Greenland for no reason. Oh, I real—those are all things I did. I'm hearing myself now and realizing maybe I'm the crazy one. Let's see, pull up a pic of my face and tell me if I look crazy. Oh, it's me. I'm the crazy one."
In fact, Trump is so desperate for a win, he tried to co-opt the U.S. men's hockey team's Olympic gold medal like he had something to do with it.
TRUMP: Our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it. People are asking me, “Please, please, please, Mr. President, we're winning too much. We can't take it anymore. We're not used to winning in our country until you came along. We're just always losing. But now we're winning too much.”
And I say, “No, no, no. You're going to win again, you're going to win big. You're going to win bigger than ever.” And to prove that point—to prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud, the men's gold medal Olympic hockey team.
MEYERS: Hey, man. You're not winning. They're winning. You didn't win [bleep]. I didn't see you out there lacing up your skates, taking slap shots with your weird Death Becomes Her hand—although maybe the hand showed up by itself and scored a goal.
Taking credit like that, you sound like our cue card guy Wally when the Patriots win a game. "Oh Seth, we played great on Sunday." "Oh, did you? How many yards did you get, Wally? How many yards is it from your couch to your kitchen?"
Trump used this speech the way he uses all of his speeches, as a vehicle to attack anyone who doesn't bend the knee. And since that's a majority of the country, his polling is terrible. Republicans think the strategy is working, but that's only because—
TRUMP: They're crazy.
