David Letterman may be out of the late-night wars, but he’s also still as outspoken as ever — you just need to find the recluse.
That’s exactly what Tom Brokaw did, and the two couldn’t help but talk politics while the NBC News cameras rolled in front of a local school.
“Listen, you’re not on the air during one of the wackiest, potentially dislocating election years of our lifetime. Donald Trump, Hillary, Bernie Sanders,” Brokaw began. “Are there times when you just say, ‘God, I’d like to be on tonight. I’d like to be talking about this … ‘”
“Well, I understand that he’s repugnant to people,” Letterman replied. “But, you tell me, the men putting together the Constitution, witnessing this election, wouldn’t they have just said, ‘That’s part of the way we set it up. Good luck’?”
“You’re absolutely right,” Brokaw concurred. “He didn’t cheat by getting the nomination.”
“Right. There’s nothing illegal going on. It’s just he’s despicable,” Letterman said. “And in this very school and everybody’s school, you hear, ‘The great thing about America is anybody can grow up to be President.’ Ooh, geez. I guess that might be true.”
Careful what you wish for, we suppose. Watch the video above, and here’s an earlier clip from their conversation, in which Letterman opines that CBS should have given “The Late Show” to a woman.
Brokaw’s full “Dateline: On Assignment” interview airs Sunday, June 12 at 7/6c on NBC.