Politics

David Letterman on Donald Trump: he’s a ‘damaged human being’

“If I had a show, I would have gone right after him.”

David Letterman announcing his retirement in 2014 during a taping of "The Late Show." AP Photo/CBS, Jeffrey R. Staab

David Letterman, the legendary comedian and variety show host, says he would’ve handled Donald Trump very differently than his late-night successors.  Letterman spent 33 years in television hosting NBC’s “Late Night” and CBS’s “Late Show.” He was famous for combining political satire with sharp interview skills, and enjoyed frequent visits from both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump long before the 2016 election season began. In an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, Letterman admitted that Trump was the “perfect guest”—though now his opinions of the Republican presidential candidate have changed.“If I had a show, I would have gone right after him,” Letterman said in the interview, calling Trump a “damaged human being” and “a person to be shunned.” While current “Tonight Show” and “Late Show” hosts Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert have both received criticism for going easy on Trump, Letterman was never known for softballs. Even six months before Trump announced his candidacy, Letterman called him a “slumlord.” In 2012, he speared him for outsourcing his Macy’s clothing line; the clip was later featured in a Hillary Clinton campaign ad.

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“I don’t know anything about trade agreements. I don’t know anything about China devaluing the yuan,” Letterman said. “But if you see somebody who’s not behaving like any other human you’ve known, that means something. They need an appointment with a psychiatrist. They need a diagnosis and they need a prescription.”

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