Seth Meyers kicked off “Late Night” on a very serious note in the wake of Donald Trump being shot at a rally over the weekend. And while the NBC host made his concerns clear, he also offered a message of hope to viewers, encouraging them not to “spiral into despair.”
To start his “A Closer Look” segment Monday night, Meyers promised that he would do his normal thing and make jokes about the news, but said that before he could do so, he wanted to take a moment to honestly reflect on Trump’s shooting.
Meyers added his voice to the many condemning the incident, and admitted that, in trying to figure out how to start the show, he was reminded of his first show following January 6. Still, he encouraged those watching to try and remain hopeful.
“I said then that multiracial, pluralistic democracy is fragile, precious, it requires our vigilant stewardship and protection. That’s as true now as it was then,” he said. “And in light of the horrific events at a Trump rally on Saturday, it’s clear that we must recommit ourselves to that endeavor as fully and as steadfastly as we can. I want to say one other thing, which is that, in challenging times like this, it’s important not to spiral into despair.”
Meyers did note that, in the last 10 years, there’s been a lot of political violence, largely because of the increased accessibility to guns in the US. He argued that “there are too many guns, they’re too easy to get, we must work to change that.” But, he added that there is reason for optimism.
“There is no autopilot setting for democracy. Every generation before us has had to do the difficult work of safeguarding this cherished enterprise, and now we’re called upon to do the same,” Meyers said. “That can feel at times like a daunting task. But the case for optimism and perseverance is this: those generations succeeded.”
He continued, “They protected democracy and passed it on to us. They witnessed political violence from assassinations, to campaigns of racist terror, to attempted coups, and they refused to succumb to a society where reason and humanity have failed, where violence rules. They built something better. And now it is our task to hold onto it.”
You can watch Seth Meyers’ full “A Closer Look” segment in the video above.
