Dakota Johnson | with Trump Slammed for Taxpayer-Funded Campaign Ads, Ken Paxton Disses Trump as GOP Panics: A Closer Look

0:02During the Hispanic Heritage Month event yesterday at the White House, President Trump said he was going to talk about the incredible Hispanics and added, quote, You know, there's lots of different names. Latinos, they call them so many different names. Luckily, his aides cut him off before he could say what they were.

0:25from 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City please enjoy this podcast edition of late night with Seth Meyers on today's show Seth talks to actress Dakota Johnson but first a closer look

0:43Donald Trump is facing backlash from his own party for using taxpayer dollars to air campaign ads, and now even his own hand-picked candidate for Senate in Texas is bashing him. For more on this, it's time for A Closer Look.

0:59Republicans are freaking out about their awful poll numbers, due in large part to high gas prices in the war in Iran, and yet Trump still seems to have no clue how to end the war. In fact, he's even started complaining about how unreasonable Iran's leaders are. They are crazy. There's no question of the matter. They are very crazy people. I tell them that all the time. I said, you're crazy, man. Alright, but when you say it like that, you make it sound kind of cool. You're talking about the Iranians like they're Ferris Bueller. Were you and the Supreme Leader going for a joyride in his dad's Ferrari?

1:33You're crazy, man. You're crazy. we better bring this back before your dad finds out. Oh, wait, I forgot. I killed him. So I guess I'm crazy, too. Let's go to a Cubs game for one inning. Oh, yeah. So Republicans desperately want an end to the war, not because they're against it. They all supported it. They just want gas prices to come down so they won't get crushed in the midterms. But how can Trump negotiate with the regime he says is crazy? You described the Iranians that the U.S. is dealing with as crazy. How do you get a deal done when the counterparts to the U.S. are crazy and irrational, whatever you want to use to describe it?

2:14Maybe you blow them up. Maybe you blow them up. We have to make that decision. We blow them up. We make a deal. But the time is coming. And if you're surprised by that answer, you've obviously never read Chapter 5 of Art of the Deal. Maybe you blow them up.

2:41Maybe you blow them up is not a phrase you ever want to hear from the president of the United States. You sound like the explosives guy on a casino heist team. All right, so there's a few ways in. Rick, our tech guy, can hack the computers. Jimmy, our master in disguise, can pretend to be a guard. Morty can pick the locks. Or maybe you blow them up. Why we blow them up? We want the money. I'm just saying I got all this dynamite

3:09Maybe you blow them up, Boris You crazy man This is obviously bad news For Republicans in swing states Who are being dragged down by the war In fact, many of them are now breaking with Trump And calling for the war to end Two Republican Senate candidates Are now calling for a swift end to the war with Iran Michigan's Mike Rogers And Iowa's Ashley Hinson Are both speaking out about the war's impact on fuel prices and the cost of living, but they previously supported President Trump's authority to strike Iran. In a new campaign ad, Rogers says the war needs to end and end quickly. The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly.

3:47Meanwhile, Hinson posted on X saying that people in Iowa shouldn't have to foot the bill for the war. I'm sorry, you both supported the war and now you want it to end? Who is that campaign ad for? You? And by the way, very cool and not at all cowardly to call for an end of the war while not naming the president who started it. But I get it. You guys are in a tough spot, right? Trump doesn't care about anyone but himself. When it comes to Republicans running in competitive races, Trump is thinking, maybe I help them or... I'd be a blow-em-up.

4:19So now Trump's in a bind, right? Is there anything else he can do to bring down gas prices without ending the war? President Trump just announced new energy investments, in particular a$54 billion project in Alaska. It's$54 billion to build the long-planned Alaska liquefied natural gas project. This is going to bring those prices down. One of the reasons Alaska prices are going to become way down. Gasoline prices in Alaska are going to tumble. All right, well, you know what? I spoke too soon. That would be huge. If Trump can get this pipeline up and running, it could drastically reduce gas prices and improve Republicans' fortunes in the midterms.

4:59I want to say I'm sorry I was so cynical, Mr. President. When do you see completion of the job, fellas? Well, the pipeline's going to take three years.

5:10Three years? That's great. And how many years until the midterms? It's only a month, sir. And that's sooner, yeah? Yes, sir, it's sooner by two years than 11 months. Okay, well then F*** me, I guess So gas prices show no signs of falling And Trump's solution is at best three years away Which is why Republicans are freaking out Even in Texas, where Trump has been doing no favors For his own nominee for Senate, Ken Paxton Trump endorsed Paxton, but his endorsement Came with some very strange and unusual caveats We have a guy named Ken Paxton And some people don't like the way he dresses, or some people don't like the way he interviews or talks.

5:58I said, I'm not sure if I like your look, I'm not sure if I like the way you dress, I don't like the way you talk. He may not dress right, he may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best looking guy I've ever seen. Jesus! How would you like to have Trump as your wingman? Excuse me, miss, my friend over there thinks you're very attractive. He, on the other hand, not attractive at all. Plus, he's pretty dumb and he smells weird. Usually, God gives you the gift of gab when you're an uggo, but not so with old Ken. He's like Cyrano de Bergerac if he was also stupid. Let's see what else.

6:38Can't read, can't write, annoying as... Well, my job is done. I'll just slip away so you two can get acquainted. So Trump doesn't exactly seem thrilled with his choice for Senate in Texas, and apparently that feeling is mutual because Paxton was caught on a leaked recording complaining about Trump's midterm convention in Dallas last month. New York Times says it has a recording of Texas AG Ken Paxton claiming this month's Republican convention caused his poll numbers to drop. President Trump came to Dallas September 9th and 10th to rally the party faithful and build up Ken Paxton. According to the New York Times, Paxton said, quote, when we did that convention, It dropped our numbers Everybody's numbers dropped Yeah, of course they did Did you think standing next to One of the least popular presidents of all time While he calls you ugly and dumb Was gonna help you in the polls?

7:30What kind of lawn signs are you handing out to voters? Vote Paxton He looks and sounds like So even Trump's lackey in Texas Is complaining about him But don't worry Trump isn't fazed by the criticism from his own party In fact, he's very proud Very proud Of how successful his midterm convention was There was a report that Ken Paxton was complaining about your midterm convention and he felt like it hurt him. What's your reaction to that? Well, I haven't heard that, but I can tell you that the convention was amazing, as you probably know. We had 107 million views. Think of this. We had over 100 million views, I think 107.

8:08The NFL had 25 million views. So we had four times what the NFL did. Now, I have to admit, when I heard that number, I thought he was lying, but we checked. It turns out Trump is right When you aggregate total views Across linear and digital platforms And include delayed viewing statistics Across the seven-day ratings window Trump really did get an average of 107 million views And of course he's lying Does that number sound real to anyone? 107 million You know where he got that number? The automated streaming system A.K.A. his ass It should go Without saying That the NFL crushed Crushed Trump's convention The television and streaming audience for Trump was somewhere around 3.3 million, far less than the 25 million from the NFL season over.

8:51The only thing that Trump has in common with an NFL game is that his doctors keep putting him through the concussion protocol. Hey, hey, Mr. President, can we get you back in the tent for a second? Just real quick, tell us which one of these is a camel. Although this is my favorite stat from that article, the most viewed YouTube videos of Trump's night one speech have only hundreds of thousands of views. You know who has more views than that? A video called 17 Minutes of People Falling.

9:21Trump's own lackeys are slamming him. His poll numbers are bad. His TV ratings are worse, which is why he's found a new and totally legal way to get his message out. Just air campaign ads on national television using your taxpayer money. The White House today is defending the Trump administration's use of millions of your taxpayer dollars for a series of TV ads promoting President Trump all in the run-up to the midterm elections. And new ads hitting the airwaves this week, Trump administration flaunts what it thinks are some of its biggest accomplishments. But the ads were paid for by the U.S.

9:53government, and that's raising concerns on Capitol Hill. Let me just show you one of them, because it's a 30-second spot. On your left is the ad paid for by you, American taxpayers. On the right is the ad paid for by Trump during his last campaign. We will liberate America from these villains once and for all. They literally took a campaign ad they used in 2024 and re-aired it on TV using taxpayer dollars. He's$2 billion richer than he was two years ago. Just pay for it yourself, you cheapskate. Is there anything this grub won't make us pay for? If you went out to dinner with Trump, he would order everything on the menu, then say, I forgot my wallet, then ask you for 50 bucks, than put it in his wallet right in front of you.

10:39We're paying for his ballroom, his arch, his fancy new Air Force One, his tuition at the school for men who stand like weirdos. I've only seen anyone stand like that during a puppet show. You know when the puppeteer has to run to the bathroom so he just hangs the strings on a hook and hopes the kinks don't notice?

11:07Critics have said using taxpayer money to air campaign ads is unethical and possibly illegal, and even Republicans are speaking out against it. But Trump has a foolproof explanation. They can't be campaign ads because he is not running for anything. The DHS is spending millions of dollars on new ads about you, and your critics say those ads might violate federal propaganda laws. Why should U.S. taxpayers pay for that? Well, I'm not running for office, first of all. And so the ads are given by me, but I'm not running for office. When I'm talking about making America great, making our country great, that's a countrywide ad.

11:46That's an ad for the spirit of our country. I'm not promoting a candidate. I'm not promoting myself because I'm not running for office. I'm promoting the country. Sorry, that's an ad promoting the spirit of the country? That ominous black and white ad? With you lurking down a hallway while terrifying music plays? if it's promoting anything, it's the spirit of Halloween. And by the way, that's only one of the ads. There's another one that looks even more like a campaign ad. America will never be a communist country. If you're going to use our money to air a campaign ad using Trump's own words like that, can you at least take our suggestions?

12:27Because we have some ideas for an ad using Trump's own words that we would be totally fine with spending taxpayer dollars on. America will never be a communist country. I love the inflation. I don't think about Americans' financial situation. When you have to pay a little bit more, you're at$4. It's okay. I'll never apologize. Nothing bad can happen. It can only good happen. Saudi Arabia and Russia will be... I've done a f***ing job as president.

13:03Corruption and self-dealing has become so commonplace in this administration that Trump thinks he can just use our money to air his campaign ads. But even Republicans are breaking with him because his poll numbers are just so bad. They're saying to Trump, Mr. President, sir. You crazy, man. This has been A Closer Look.

13:29Our guest tonight is a talented actress and producer. You know from her work in the Lost Daughter, Materialist, Splitsville, and the Fifty Shades movie. She stars in Verity, which will be in theaters everywhere on October 2nd. And this weekend, she's returning to SNL with musical guest Turnstile. Please welcome back to the show our friend Dakota Johnson, everyone!

13:56Hello, Chris. Hello. I always have to... You raise the bar, and I always try to match it. I demand it from you. You demand it. At this point. Because a lot of hosts, I should say, a lot of guests have commented on the fact that I'm very casual now. But of all of them, and I say this with sincerity, you... I don't know what to do with my dress. Sorry. Let's talk about me. You literally couldn't let me get through my first sentence. Okay, go. No, I'm not going to just go back. Out of all of your guests, you cater to my needs. Yes. That's about right. That's about, I mean, that's where we've ended up, I think.

14:33How are you? I'm good. You're right down the hall getting ready for SNL. Yeah, I've been running around down there all week. Third time. Third time. Does it feel different, the third time? A little bit. Yeah. Better? I just love it so much, and now I'm like, Let's go. Great. There's a very exciting thing that's going to happen on Saturday night, which is you're going to have a birthday halfway through the show.

14:56I know. How fun is that? Do you like... Are you happy? I would be thrilled to sort of have something like that happening on my birthday because then sort of the celebration is happening without me having to do any planning or anything. Exactly. Yeah. The after party, I had to do nothing. Are you... It's just... It's like a built-in birthday party. Do you like when people draw attention to you on your birthday? in general? No, I like other people's birthdays. Are you good at planning them? Because I like to try and ruin them. Well, that tracks with everything we know about you. What's a good way?

15:30How have you ruined birthdays in the past? Well, recently my friend Blake turned like 42, but I celebrated his 50th. Oh, that's right. And on the invitation, we made him a lot larger than he is. and with a lot of chest hair and then, like, Chipotle wrappers everywhere on the ground and a snake around his neck because he hates snakes. Yeah. I mean, I guess if he's your friend, he has to probably see that coming to some degree. Yeah. Yeah. He's not like Dakota, how could you? He's more like, how could you not? No, we have this thing in our friend group where if it's one of our birthdays, we have this cake place in L.A.

16:15that makes, like, the most messed up cake. See, I'm learning about television. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Very good. They just do whatever, like... Oh, so there's, like, a no-rules cake place. No safe word cake place. Porn cakes with, like, your face on a porn bottle. Yeah, everybody's worried about AI doing that, but, like, there's still... There's bakers doing it. Bakers. Yeah. I've been doing this for years. I'm way ahead of the curve. Are they excited when you come in? They're like, oh, what do you got for us? They, like, know us now. Yeah. And they think it's so funny. What's the... If we showed a picture of the worst cake you had ever made, how much would we have to blur?

16:56The whole thing. Really? Do people, when they see it the first time, do people recoil or gasp? Yes. Yeah. Yeah, and also are, like, horrified. And they're like, you guys are not good friends, but we are great friends. Is it hard to get past, like, what's on the cake when it's time to actually, like, have some cake? No, cake is cake, man. Yeah. You know what? Of everything you've ever said on the show, cake is cake, man. I... Are you just... I want to make sure you're... Cake just be cake, brother. Cake? Cake be caking. Do you... Is there a chance, like, when it turns midnight, if you're, like, mid-sketch, like, you're not going to be, like, one of those people who's, like, immediately your mood shifts because nobody's wished you happy birthday.

17:41I just start crying. Yeah. Like I normally do on my birthday? Don't do this. Don't pander for their sympathy. You're better than that. Aw. Now I wish we just were rolling out like a cake that was just like a massive orgy. Me too. Next time, next time. Next time, next time. Hey, I want to talk about your new movie. Okay. But your production company, Tea Time, You guys have started a book club. It's very cool. And now you have a sub stack. Yes, we just moved our book club to sub stack. So all of you are... It's mandatory before you leave this building that you subscribe. Mandatory for Dakota's birthday.

18:26It's all you want. Do you... Are you a voracious reader? Yeah. That's good. Are you? Yeah, but I wish I was reading more than I'm reading. Ideally. Because you're just reading cue cards all day long? Well, even I will say, even when I read books I make Wally write them on cue cards And so he's always like Maybe you want to read one of the shorter ones, boss? He's in the corner of your bedroom He's in the corner of my bedroom And I make him also, I mean, one of his guys Hold a book light Wally's like, can I get a Break? I'm like, no, man, you made a deal with the devil You work for me now I mean, Wally, you know Wally obviously Is a host on SNL, he is your touchstone, right?

19:10Like seeing Wally, that is safety.

19:15Did you, again, third time, but do you feel like you've gotten better at cue cards? Were you a natural with cue cards the first time you hosted? What do you think? Yeah, yeah, she was good. Good answer. Yep. I mean, I've seen him be more effusive. I actually didn't know how to read. You and Wally had like a Rocky-style montage where he was like teaching you. Yeah. He like held it up. He's like, can you see this? You're like, good news, I can see it. Bad news. I don't know what any of those letters mean. All right, stick around. We're going to talk about your movie. You guys, that's Dakota Johnson.

19:45We'll be right back.

20:02Verity.

20:05Verity. Verity. Oh, God. She was just telling me. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. No one else. I'm sorry. No, I just saw her.

20:19She... She can't walk, Lohan. We're back with Dakota Johnson! And that was a clip from Verity. And that's what I feel like... That was really exciting. The clips. I feel like the clips rarely have one of the characters saying the title of the movie in the clip. Like five times. Yeah. That's really good marketing. The PR team was like, we're going to show a clip where you keep saying the title of the movie. Yeah. And also, you saw Verity, which is what you want moviegoers to say as of next week. I saw Verity. You really nailed it. You nailed it. This is based on a book. It sure is. It's a Colleen Hoover book, and it's a very popular book, so I feel like I'm not spoiling anything when I tell the premise of the book, which is you get hired to help a writer, played by Anne Hathaway, named Verity, finish her book.

21:04Yes. Was this a book that you had read, being a voracious reader? I hadn't read it before I read the script. Gotcha. Then I read the script, and then I read the book. Gotcha. And Josh Hartnett, Anne Hathaway? Mm-hmm. I heard you had sort of a scary moment on set. Oh, yes. Well. You just had, like, the biggest, like, scan of emotions there. You went from, like, confusion to yes to delight. Like, did I? I did. Oh. I'm an actress. I, yeah, I fainted into Josh Hartnett's arms. Oh, my God. But because of Josh Hartnett or because of something else? I like it here. Yeah, you really have... Do it again.

21:54Oh. You got him on a string tonight, Dakota. Why did you faint? Well, it turns out I had a kidney infection, but... So I just, like, passed out. We were in the middle of a scene like this, and it's very serious. And he's like, would you have come if you knew that Faraday was in a wheelchair? And I just... And he kind of, like, caught me and laid me down on the ground. And then when I came to, I was like, sorry, guys, let's go again. And they were like, uh, you're going to the hospital. I like that it was also It does seem as though you could almost use it for the take Because, I mean, your character must have been shocked When they heard this news about Verity Like, was the director like I think we're going to use that one Well, I kind of The camera wasn't prepared for me to just drop out of frame like that It was funnier than Yeah Than dramatic That's the problem You can't improvise on movies Because the cameras are always just set up for different things Yeah Real bummer Yeah Real inside baseball conversation Happening here Would you yourself You play an author in this book Would you ever write a book?

23:03No Why not? You have an interesting life And fun takes on things

23:12Stranger than fiction, man I can't Why? I could never Why not? No one would believe me Oh, that's a problem So many people would be angry with me And I'm not a gossip And I don't have the time Time. There's a lot of reasons. And nobody wants to know about my life. I think that's where you're wrong, but I do think we'd probably all think you were lying. But it would be fun to read. Think about it. Would you? Will you think about it? I would, but I... Are you writing a book? I'm trying. It's so hard. That's the part. What are you writing about? What? What are you writing about? Uh, don't be mad, you.

23:56Don't be mad! I didn't get your permission, but I'm writing a life story. I'm talking to everybody who knows you. You are in a music video, a short film, and I know you've talked a lot about it. So I'm only going to ask you one solitary question because I'm wary of the fact that you've talked a lot. I gave you one. I'm going to give you one question. Who can hold their breath underwater longer? Wow. This is you and Taylor Swift underwater, and it looks like practical, functional water.

24:34This looks like you going in and ordering a cake. I want it to be, I want it to be, let it give me this. Wow, water does wonderful things. Yeah. Hydrating. Yep. By the way, I love that you're like, I'm going to give you one question. I'm not going to answer it. You know what, I think I got a better answer, ultimately. Point to my tit. You know what? We're so glad you did. No, I think probably Taylor. By the way, I'm so glad that you did it, because that would have been a terrible question, right? Like, if I had been like, will you point to them? I know we were all thinking it. One question. Point to them, please.

25:16My God. How many times did you have to go underwater for this? I don't remember. We did it a few times. That's great. It was so fun. It looks great. We were just, like, splashing about in the pool. Yeah. What a life. What a job. But I do think Taylor would be able to hold her breath longer because of her lung capacity being a singer. That makes sense. But I recently did a Hold Your Breath competition with Josh O 'Connor in a pool, and our friends were timing us. And I stayed under for a really long time where they had to be like, get up. He came up three times. So you might have a skill here. Maybe.

25:53I'm telling you, that alone is like two chapters in a book. You've got to write a book. Okay, the first chapter is about my tits underwater. You're like, things I found out. Things I've learned as a woman. If you're feeling not hot, get a spray tan and get in the pool. And everything goes up. This is amazing. Thank you so much for being here. It's always such a pleasure. You guys, that's a funny job. Verity will be in theaters this Friday, October 2nd. Go for Seth and Alex.

26:52Thank you.