Despite his ongoing legal troubles and indictments, Donald Trump swears that he is “a legitimate person.” But the hosts of “Morning Joe” are pretty sure that’s more of a self-affirmation for him at this point, similar to one of Al Franken’s “Saturday Night Live” characters: Stuart Smalley.
Trump’s words came on Tuesday, in yet another interview where he attempted to defend leaked audio of him seemingly confessing to being in possession of classified documents. When asked by a reporter if there are any more tapes that people should be “concerned” about surfacing, Trump steadfastly claimed no, “because I don’t do things wrong, I do things right. I’m a legitimate person.”
After laughing at the “absurdity” of Trump’s ever-changing defenses of this tape, “Morning Joe” panelist Willie Geist immediately drew a connection between Trump and Al Franken’s character.
“There’s an element, John, of Stuart Smalley there,” Geist said. “Looking in the mirror saying ‘I’m good enough, people like me.’ Saying ‘I am a legitimate person.’”
For those unaware, Smalley is a character that originated on SNL in 1991. He was the host of a mock self-help show called “Daily Affirmations With Stuart Smalley.” And yes, most of that show was spent reciting self-affirmations, including the words “people like me.”
Speaking more seriously on Trump’s response to the tape, Geist argued that the twice-impeached former president has “such contempt for his voters,” and that his arguments “speak to the impunity with which he has operated.”
You can watch the full moment from “Morning Joe” in the video above, and an “episode” of Stuart Smalley’s show here.
