Jimmy Fallon Turns Trump's Bizarre Rally Sound Into a Late-Night Comedy Bit
One garbled syllable at a South Carolina rally has become late-night television's favorite new punchline. "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon turned President Donald Trump's verbal stumble into a full comedy segment — and even revealed the moment has already been turned into a dance track.
Speaking at a get-out-the-vote rally at the T. Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton, South Carolina on October 21 — an event for Senator Darline Graham — Trump appeared to glitch mid-sentence while trying to say the name of former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. "I'd say 90 percent of the reason I took the governor—UHP," he said, according to The Daily Beast.
The odd sound traveled fast across social media. By Thursday night, Fallon was playing the clip repeatedly on "The Tonight Show." "It's like a burp, a hiccup, and a dry-heave all in one," he laughed, per TheWrap's account of the segment.
Now with a beat
Fallon was not done. He revealed that the rally audio had already been turned into a dance remix, which he played for the studio audience — calling it a "banger," according to Parade.
A gentler host goes sharper
Fallon, who typically lands softer punches than fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver, has ramped up the Trump jokes as the midterm elections approach, TheWrap reported. Earlier in the week, he also needled the president over rally comments about Ohio Senator Jon Husted, and he could not resist another jab at Trump's claim — made at the same South Carolina rally — that he had called Google's CEO about renaming the Atlantic and Pacific oceans the "American Ocean" and "Trump Ocean." "Once again, 12 days before this election, it's good to see him locked in on the really big issues," Fallon quipped, according to Parade.
The studio audience erupted in applause and laughter as Fallon leaned into the bit — the latest example of a campaign-trail moment living a second life on late night.