late night

Joe Biden Teases a Taylor Swift Endorsement: “I Told You, It’s Classified”

On Late Night With Seth Meyers, the president also addressed the Israel-Hamas war and concerns over his age: “You got to take a look at the other guy—he’s about as old as I am.”
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NBC

“It’s good to be back. Why haven’t you invited me earlier?” Joe Biden joked on Monday’s episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers, which honored the late-night show’s 10-year anniversary by bringing back its very first guests. Amy Poehler appeared first, before inviting her onetime Parks and Recreation scene partner onstage.

Seth Meyers began by asking Biden about co-opting the “Dark Brandon” conspiracy meme after the Kansas City Chiefs won the latest Super Bowl. Biden responded to the victory by joking that it happened “just like we drew it up,” a reference to conspiracies revolving around Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. “I resent the hell out of it,” Biden quipped to Meyers, before putting on a pair of dark aviators.

The president then addressed baseless, rampant right-wing theories that Biden colluded with Swift as part of “a covert government effort” to help him win reelection—a theory that 18% of Americans actually believe, according to one Monmouth University poll. “It’s classified information,” Biden joked, before reminding Meyers—and any Swifties watching—“She did endorse me in 2020.” Is he expecting that support to come around again, Meyers wondered? “I told you, it’s classified,” Biden insisted with a smile.

At age 81, Biden is the oldest-ever US president, but he dismissed concerns about his age by pointing out that Donald Trump is also a senior citizen at 77. “Number one, you got to take a look at the other guy. He’s about as old as I am, but he can’t remember his wife’s name,” Biden said, referring to Trump’s appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend, in which the former president spoke both of his wife, Melania, and former aide Mercedes Schlapp, who was in the crowd. During his monologue, Meyers suggested that Trump had used the wrong name for his spouse at one point, a characterization that Trump’s spokesperson Steven Cheung has refuted. “Number two, it’s about how old your ideas are,” Biden continued, adding that Trump “wants to take us back” on “solid American positions” like Roe v. Wade.

Biden then slammed Trump’s handling of the January 6 insurrection and his vow to pardon those who participated in it. “That’s what happens in Eastern European countries,” Biden said. “That’s not what happens in America.”

Before his segment was up, Biden noted that there is “a path forward, with difficulty” in the Israel-Hamas war. “Ramadan’s coming up, and there’s been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan as well, in order to give us time to get all the hostages out,” he explained. “I think that if we get that temporary cease-fire, we’re going to be able to move in a direction where we can change the dynamic.”