NBC’s Jimmy Fallon welcomed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Thursday’s taping of the Tonight Show to promote her new book and essentially rename the show the Kamala Harris Promotion Show.
The usually less political Fallon marveled, “Can we talk about it for a second? Kamala Harris is now the nominee and this is exciting. Were you giving her advice? Were you –”
Clinton interrupted the question to echo Fallon’s sentiment, “Well, first of all, you know, I had to turn the book in. And I turned it in before everything changed. And it was thrilling. President Biden did the right thing. It was an act of patriotism for him to make that decision. And, you know, not a lot of people, and I could name one in particular, would give up power willingly.”
Patriotic or on the losing side of an intraparty power struggle?
As for the current situation, Clinton had more praise for Harris, “And, you know, partly because I know her. I've known her for a long time. I know her sister. I know her husband. I know the whole family. And she has performed flawlessly. Flawlessly in, you know, being thrown into the deep end, the president endorsing her. Literally within a minute or two, my husband and I endorsed her. I mean, we just believe so strongly that she was the person. And she could not have had a better convention. And she could not have had a better debate.”
Later, Fallon mused, “I think there's got to be some sort of pride for you.”
Clinton agreed, “Totally. Well, first of all, she's done incredibly well under really, really difficult circumstances. And she's done something else, which is to contrast so dramatically with his doom and gloom, his fearmongering, his hatred of different kinds of people, the darkness, the divisiveness.”
She also tried to make the “vibes election” meme stick, “She's out there saying, ‘You know what? We're better than this. We can all come together. We can have a better future.’ And I love that level of joy and enthusiasm to get people thinking again, ‘How do we get our country back on the right track and actually, you know, listen to each other, do some big things, and make a difference?’ Right?”
Fallon agreed, “Yeah, that's exactly right.”
The last time Clinton was on the Tonight Show, she told voters who were concerned about Biden to “get over yourself.” No doubt she would say the same thing to people who are less concerned about vibes and more concerned about their livelihoods.
As for Fallon, it appears he is still reeling from the blowback he got for touching Donald Trump’s hair in 2016 because not even he is immune from turning his show into Late Night DNC.
Here is a transcript for the September 19-taped show:
NBC The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
8/20/2024
12:19 AM ET
JIMMY FALLON: Can we talk about it for a second? Kamala Harris is now the nominee and --
HILLARY CLINTON: Yes.
FALLON: This is exciting. Were you giving her advice? Were you --
CLINTON: Well, first of all, you know, I had to turn the book in. And I turned it in before everything changed.
FALLON: Yeah.
CLINTON: And it was thrilling. President Biden did the right thing. It was an act of patriotism for him to make that decision. And, you know, not a lot of people, and I could name one in particular, would give up power willingly.
FALLON: I wonder -- I wonder -- wonder who you're talking about. Yeah.
CLINTON: Yeah, he who shall remain nameless. Right? So, this all happened. And I couldn't write about it 'cause the book was at the printer.
FALLON: Yeah.
CLINTON: So, I recorded -- I was recording the book, and I did an epilogue talking about it.
FALLON: Yeah.
CLINTON: And, you know, I sat down, and I thought, "All right, how do I really, honestly feel?" 'Cause I try to be as, you know, candid as I possibly can, personally, politically in this book. I thought, "How -- how do I feel?"
FALLON: Yeah, are you --
CLINTON: Somebody I know, somebody I respect.
FALLON: "I'm so proud of you, Kamala, first woman. Great."
CLINTON: You know.
FALLON: Just snapping pencils. "I'm so excited for you. Congratulations."
CLINTON: No, no, no.
FALLON: "Yeah, you did it! You're the first."
CLINTON: But I had to -- I had to ask myself, was that how I felt? And the answer is no. I was thrilled. I was excited. I was exhilarated.
FALLON: You were.
CLINTON: And, you know, partly because I know her. I've known her for a long time. I know her sister. I know her husband. I know the whole family. And she has performed flawlessly. Flawlessly in, you know, being thrown into the deep end, the president endorsing her. Literally within a minute or two, my husband and I endorsed her. I mean, we just believe so strongly that she was the person. And she could not have had a better convention. And she could not have had a better debate.
…
FALLON: I think there's got to be some sort of pride for you.
CLINTON: Totally. Well, first of all, she's done incredibly well under really, really difficult circumstances. And she's done something else, which is to contrast so dramatically with his doom and gloom, his fearmongering, his hatred of different kinds of people, the darkness, the divisiveness.
She's out there saying, "You know what? We're better than this. We can all come together. We can have a better future." And I love that level of joy and enthusiasm to get people thinking again, "How do we get our country back on the right track and actually, you know, listen to each other, do some big things, and make a difference?" Right?
FALLON: Yeah, that's exactly right.
