After Jimmy Kimmel Feud, Donald Trump Zeroes In on Another TV Host
Donald Trump unloaded on NBC’s Seth Meyers on Nov. 1, firing off a Truth Social broadside after the late-night host mocked his military address and branding Meyers the least talented live performer in TV history and the worst to ever take the stage.
Trump vs. late night is back again. Seth Meyers roasted Trump over, of all things, aircraft carrier catapults, and Trump answered with a full-throttle Truth Social post. It is petty, oddly technical, and very 2025.
Trump lights up Meyers after watching a segment on catapults
On November 1, 2025, Trump unloaded on Meyers for a recent Late Night segment that mocked his naval defense talking points. He claimed he tuned in for the first time in years and found a guy obsessed with his obsession.
"Seth Meyers of NBC may be the least talented person to 'perform' live in the history of television. In fact, he may be the WORST to perform, live or otherwise. I watched his show the other night for the first time in years. In it he talked endlessly about electric catapults on aircraft carriers which I complain about as not being as good as much less expensive steam catapults. On and on he went, a truly deranged lunatic. Why does NBC waste its time and money on a guy like this??? - NO TALENT, NO RATINGS, 100% ANTI TRUMP, WHICH IS PROBABLY ILLEGAL!!!"
That outburst sits on top of a broader feud with late-night in general, after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel in September and Stephen Colbert's show was canceled in July.
What set all this off: a very specific Navy debate
Trump's gripe traces back to his stop at the USS George Washington in Yokosuka, Japan, on October 27 and 28. During those visits, he ripped the Navy's Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and said he plans to sign an executive order mandating old-school steam catapults on new carriers instead.
He framed EMALS as overpriced and underperforming, complained that the service is spending billions on an electric setup he considers inferior, and even did an impromptu poll with sailors that leaned heavily toward steam. It is an extremely niche fight to trigger a late-night monologue, but here we are.
Meyers' rebuttal: a cartoon-level analogy and a translation bit
On October 30, Meyers responded in his A Closer Look segment, turning Trump's catapult fixation into a running joke. He compared Trump's headspace to a certain cartoon coyote, rolled out a 'Seth Translates Trump to English' bit, and riffed on the roadrunner gag. He also argued that Trump treats even mild criticism like a personal betrayal and immediately blows his top.
Worth noting: Trump said he watched Meyers "for the first time in years," but he has been posting about Meyers off and on since August. So, not exactly a cold reintroduction.
The wider late-night fight, in one example: Kimmel's suspension and rebound
- ABC brought Jimmy Kimmel back on September 23, 2025, after a six-day suspension over remarks he made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk that referenced assassination. The return episode pulled 6.26 million viewers, a series best and roughly quadruple his typical 1.6 million.
- Two nights later (September 25), the audience slid to 2.3 million — a 64% drop from the comeback spike — but still above pre-suspension levels.
- An hour before that return aired, Trump posted that he could not believe ABC gave Kimmel his job back. He also pointed to a reported $15 million ABC News settlement paid to his presidential foundation in December 2024 after an incorrect legal statement by George Stephanopoulos.
- Investors noticed the chaos: Disney shed about $4.99 billion in market value during the dust-up.
- And some ABC affiliates balked. Station groups Nexstar and Sinclair — together responsible for around a quarter of ABC's local stations — refused to carry the show, which blocked roughly 20% of U.S. households from watching live in their markets.
- Meanwhile, more than 400 public figures, including Selena Gomez and Natalie Portman, signed an open letter arguing the suspension chilled free speech.
Where this leaves late night (and Trump)
Trump is not just singling out Meyers. He has also pushed NBC to dump both Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, dismissing them as losers. And after Kimmel's suspension and Colbert's cancellation, there is a lot of attention on how these shows handle politics — and how politics handles them right back.
Bottom line: a presidential candidate is feuding with a talk show host over aircraft carrier catapults. That is both strangely specific and completely on brand for 2025. Tell me where you land on this one in the comments.