John Malkovich | with Trump Crushed by Blue Tsunami, Dems Rout MAGA in Texas, Kansas & SC; Fox News Spirals: A Closer Look

0:02Georgia Senator John Ossoff defeated Republican candidate Mike Collins yesterday by nearly 18 points. 18 points. Well, it's not the first time Ossoff's had a good cushion. Hey, if Trump can talk about senators' asses, so can I.

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 actor John Malkovich But first, a closer look

0:43The midterms were over and there was a blue wave Or a blue tsunami Or a blue monsoon or a blue Sharknado. Whatever you want to call it, everyone agreed on what color it was. Even Donald Trump, when it was all over, even he said, well, that blue. For more on this, it's time for A Closer Look.

1:08Guys, I'll be honest. I was all prepared to come out here and say something like, look, there was a lot of hype and Democrats didn't live up to expectations, but narrowly retaking the House is still a good thing. Because, you know, waiting for the Democrats to have success Can make you feel like you're Matt Damon Trying to grow a potato on Mars But last night it was potatoes for everybody Democrats went into the night Afraid polls were going to underestimate Republicans again But if anything, the opposite was true Look, I think that this is obviously a huge victory for Democrats But it's also a huge night for the polls as well If anything, it might have been that polls underestimated Democrats' advantage Finally, the polls underestimated Democrats' routine Say goodbye to the shy Trump voter in Michigan And say hello to the shy woke voter in Texas Hell yeah Hell yeah, that's a 10-gallon hat 10 gallons of compassion Democrats didn't just romp to victory in states they were expected to win They won in deep red states they haven't even sniffed for decades.

2:17We are now calling the Senate race in South Carolina, projecting that the Democrat Annie Andrews has beaten the Republican Senator Darlene Graham. Democrat Josh Turek will win the Senate seat in Iowa. Roy Cooper will win the U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina. In the battleground state of Georgia, CNN projects that Democrat John Ossoff will win the Senate race. Keisha Lance Bottoms will become the governor. The AP has now called the Ohio Senate race. Wow. Democrat Sherrod Brown. ABC News now projecting that Amy Acton will be the next governor of Ohio. In the state of Michigan, the Democrat Abdul Al-Sayed will win that race.

3:01Democrat James Calarico will win the U.S. Senate seat in the high stakes race in Texas. CBS News can project the Kansas Senate seat for Democrat Adam Hamilton. Trump won Kansas by what? 16 points Yeah That was in 2024 Correct And Kansas has not had A Democratic senator in It has not elected one Since 1932 1932 The last time Kansas Sent a Democrat to the Senate Was before they sent Dorothy to Oz And remember those feeds Sticking out from Under Dorothy's house? Those were Mitch McConnell's When they finally got The house off him He took a picture With the newspaper To prove he was okay Now, where are my slippers?

3:50Who's doing my slippers? And it's not just the big Senate races everyone's talking about. The Democrats are poised to win so many other contests in so many unexpected places that professional news anchors didn't even know the candidates' names. There are races on the board right now that have no business whatsoever being close. Doesn't mean the Democrats are going to win that race, but I'm talking races that I didn't know at all. And I read like 40 different prep docs. North Carolina 13. North Carolina 13. I've never seen these people's names before. The Democrat, I'm like, who's this dude? No one before tonight had Paul Berenger and District 13 in North Carolina on the races to watch list.

4:32Correct. I guarantee you because I read every last one of them. I don't even think the Democrats thought they were going to win those races. There's probably a bunch of people waking up today Who thought they were just running as sacrificial lambs In deep red territory saying, the I gotta be a congressman now? Honey, remember that thing I signed up for as a joke when I was drunk? Well, we're moving to D.C. That's how much of a tsunami this is I mean, just look at Texas Yes, Democrats won the marquee race there by double digits which is insane in itself. But it's not just James Tallarico. Democrats crushed all over Texas.

5:15The Associated Press declares that Gina Hinojosa will be the next Democratic governor of the state of Texas. Democrats got a sweep of the statewide races from attorney general to ad commissioner and down the line. Some of these sleeper races like, say, Texas comptroller or Texas railroad commissioner, races that aren't always top of mind or on the radar for voters was suddenly leading by Democrats for the first time in I don't even know who, like how long. Democrats making significant gains in their effort to take control of the Texas House. In the Texas House, there were significant gains by Democrats.

5:51Now, Democrats are expected to control the Texas House moving forward. Behind me this morning, Senator, is the Texas State House. This entire state is blue. Texas That Texas Is a blue state But let me just say, don't worry Texans Despite the fear-mongering ads from his opponents Tallarico ran on affordability Not a return to wokeism No one's going to replace your brisket with tofu Or make landman join a polycule These are my non-binary partners Zephyr and Willow Now before we have our three-way We would like to acknowledge that this oil field Is on the stolen land of the Apache People Texas is now so blue The only remaining Republican in statewide office Is Ted Cruz The next Texas GOP convention Is just going to be Ted in an empty room Wait, sorry, I'm being told That's a picture from his birthday party It's not your fault, Ted The partyful invite probably went to spam To find a popular vote in this large and midterm, you have to go back to the post-Watergate wipeout of 1974.

7:02That's how voters feel right now. They're as angry at Trump as they were at Nixon. The difference is Nixon at least had enough shame to try to hide Watergate. If it had been Trump, he would have shown up to a press conference with a mask and a crowbar. We're breaking and entering better than ever before. The point is, this is the big, clear-cut, unequivocal Trump repudiation. Democrats have been desperately chasing for 10 years, and it finally happened. People are furious at high prices. Constant lying, broken promises, the orgy of corruption and self-enrichment, the naked authoritarian power grabs, the violence in our streets, the relentless indignities, the constant rolling, reckless show, and the nonstop obsession with home renovations.

7:43I mean, this! This was Trump's closing argument the day before the election. I'm thrilled to announce the official opening of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Now we're giving serious thought to changing the name to the Trump Reflecting Pool. They've been trying to figure this one out for a long time. And it's a tough one because of the lengths. It's actually the largest pool, the longest pool anywhere in the world by far. This has been, this is a massive piece of pool. I mean, they've had years here where you couldn't see any water. It was just algae. and it had a bad aroma, to put it mildly.

8:26A bad aroma. Wow, I can't believe Trump's closing message of the reflecting pool doesn't smell like anymore didn't work. Also, the aroma wasn't so strong that people everywhere could smell it. It's not like a voter in Iowa said, that's it, I'm voting Democrat, but... Hold on. Hold on. I don't smell it anymore. I don't smell the pool anymore. I can't stay mad at you, Donald. Also, let's go back and give one more listen To Donald Trump's unique turn of phrase This is a massive piece of, uh, piece of pool I love when someone says, uh, to buy time And then still can't land it Credit where credit's due There's a chance no one in the world Has ever said the phrase, massive piece of pool That sounds like ChatGPT if you dropped your phone in the toilet And if you thought that was dumb, wait until you find out There's a second Donald Trump, and he was in Ohio Saying something even dumber about Democrats wanting to make D.C.

9:36a state Or at least I think that's what he's trying to say They want to pack the Supreme Court They want to make Ohio a state

9:47He's such a massive piece of, uh... Tool. So this was clearly and unequivocally a defeat for Donald Trump. Or, or, or, or, hear me out, you guys. Maybe it had nothing to do with him. This is, I don't say, you know, I don't like to consider it a defeat for me. I was on the ballot. If you're on the ballot, it's different than if you're not on the ballot. Wow. We finally found something Trump doesn't want his name on. Also, buddy, my sweet buddy, sweet prince, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you were on the ballot, my man. Your name might not have been there, but it's not like everyone forgot who was president.

10:25You did, like, 30 rallies in the month leading up to the midterms. You wouldn't shut up. You kept talking about how good senators' asses were. You made the whole thing about you. This is like Ray Romano saying everybody loves Raymond was mostly about Robert. Raymond. Raymond, the pool smells like again.

10:52We're doing a lot of voices, you guys. The only thing I'll give Trump... The only thing I'll give Trump is that he never explicitly told voters he was on the ballot. Oh, what's that? Oh, he did do that? Well, I'm sure it was only once or twice. In fact, we're going to play a short montage of Trump saying he was on the ballot. But since the president is the man of his word, I'm sure it'll be a quick montage. I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot. I'm on the ballot. I'm on the ballot. This election, I'm asking you to pretend I'm on the ballot. You gotta pretend I'm on the ballot. Just pretend that I'm on the ballot.

11:31Because in a way, I am on the ballot. Pretend that I'm on the ballot. Just close your eyes and pretend I'm on the ballot. Pretend I'm on the ballot. Because in a way, I am on the ballot. Pretend that I'm on the ballot, if you don't mind. pretend i'm on the ballot but i really am on the ballot pretend that i'm on the ballot please pretend that i'm on the ballot pretend that i'm on the ballot you know in the truest sense i really am on the ballot pretend i'm on the ballot please i really want you to pretend i'm on the ballot so if you pretend that i'm on the ballot and in a sense i am on the ballot please pretend i'm on the ballot so i'm asking you to pretend that i'm running from pretend i'm on the ballot gotta remember i'm on the ballot just because i am on the ballot so i am really on the ballot.

12:10Pretend I am on the ballot you know have certain way I am on the ballot pretend that I'm on the ballot pretend if you will I'm on the ballot and actually I am on the ballot just pretend I'm on the ballot. Pretend that I'm on the ballot but I really am on the ballot. Pretend that I'm on the ballot and I am on the ballot. So we're on the ballot. I'm on the ballot. Pretend that I'm on the ballot. Pretend that I'm on the ballot and in a certain way I am on the ballot pretend that I'm on the ballot. Please pretend I'm on the ballot because in a way I am on the ballot pretend I'm on the ballot because essentially I am on the ballot pretend I'm on the ballot just say Trump's on the ballot you're gonna think of me as on the ballot right everybody promise pretend I'm on the ballot pretend I'm on the ballot because we really are on the ballot I'm asking you to pretend I'm on the ballot

12:59where am I what has is Ohio State I fell asleep after, like, 50. How many more were there? But as much as I love when Trump lies in hilariously transparent ways, I also enjoy when he gets sad. When he gets sad and philosophical, as he did last night when he called in to Fox News to mourn, but also to give himself grace. It's just a point in time, Brett. Just a point in time. It's the way it is. There was a mood in the air, I guess. And, you know, if you look, I shouldn't feel guilty. Oh, brother, nobody thought you were going to have a complex feeling like guilt. You have the emotional palate of a badger.

13:47You only feel two things, hungry and mad. So it's a little weird when you sound like you're talking to your therapist about a breakup. I shouldn't feel guilty. I mean, I was a great boyfriend. There was just a mood in the air. She didn't like how much I talked about John Husted's ass But doc, you should see it, it's a really good ass Trump seemed fairly low energy when he was on the phone with reporters last night Even when he tried to get angry at Fox News about their polling They just pointed out that their polling had been accurate And he quickly caved I read at Fox that I'm not popular You know, I mean, the Fox polls are terrible You ought to get yourself a good pollster Because your pollster is the worst But tonight, actually, the results are pretty close to what the Fox polls showed Well, I don't know about that I don't know about that.

14:33Part of me listens to him and thinks, do you really think Republicans were going to win last night? And then I remember, he really thought we were going to win a war with Iran in a day. Trump spent the night coping, and he wasn't alone. Fox News anchors were on the verge of tears. It was practically a funeral. If we, as a country, did not go into the war in Iran, and that was not on the agenda tonight, is this a much different race tonight? I think 100%. I don't think there's any doubt about it. The two years of any president, especially a dominant personality, is an incomplete grade. Americans are good people with a heart, and they didn't like some of what they saw.

15:11But higher gas prices, how people feel, I think is the more dominant feeling force right now. You think he inspired Democrats, more Democrats to come out than others? Oh, I think the hatred for this man is unprecedented. I've never seen anything like it. Yeah. But you are... I'm with Sean on this point. Why do you nasty, radical socialists hate this man so much? Is it because he lies and cheats and steals? Is it because he calls some of you jihadists or terrorists or traitors or scum or vermin or enemies of the people or thugs? Is it because he threatens to jail you or deport you or take your money or send you to war or because when a person he doesn't like dies, he says stuff like, Robert Mueller just died.

15:55Good. I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people. Is that why you hate him? And, okay, you know what? Now that I'm hearing myself say that, I get why you hate him. I get why you hate him. I mean, forget the president. If you found your friend's burn book at school and she wrote, Kayleigh was a terrible cheer captain and I'm glad she's dead, you'd say, I can't in good faith give you my vote for prom queen. So the mood wasn't great at Fox News, But how about over on MS Now? I mean, I know these results were good for Democrats, but I'm sure they stayed straight-laced and professional.

16:32Looking back now at... I'm sorry, I was just... We were talking. That's us. That's my fault. What were you guys talking about? I thought you were talking about food, which got me very excited. We are eating. We're eating with gummy bears over there. We are eating candy, so we are all sugar-nabbed. Michael has these gummy bears that he's a staffer. Let me just level with you people. The miasma of sugar coming off you guys Was actually, like, kind of giving me weird... I'm happy to share They're giggling and eating candy Like five-year-olds at a birthday party At one point, they stopped looking at election results And just busted open a piñata Even worse, if you looked out the window Sean Hannity had his face pressed up against the glass So the mood at Fox was glum But when Republicans weren't sad and introspective They were angry The nyes were out immediately, as Trump and his buddies on Fox looked for someone to blame, in some cases, before the results were even in.

17:27President Trump said, quote, If Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, hadn't become a rhino in the last six months of his political life, he wouldn't have lost. He went back to his original formula, and it wasn't pretty. Darlene Graham, nice woman, but she choked. First question, foreign policy out of that debate was awful. She couldn't recover from that. the president did all he could to save that seat campaign for a lot in South Carolina. Shows you how much loyalty these people have. They'll beg you to run for Senate in a difficult year, and then when you lose and humiliate yourself, they'll turn around and say, well, she's a loser.

18:02But I can't argue with their assessment that Graham was a bad candidate. I mean, aside from her debate flub, her closing argument was not convincing. Democrat Annie Andrews, the most radical liberal candidate ever to run for office in the history of South Carolina.

18:22Like they say out in the country, she's just plain old bat crazy. She's just plain old bat crazy. Of course, that's the same thing my memaw said about me when I told her I was going to be a senator just like my brother. Well, your dream came true, you big old bag of boils. They kicked me out. Now I'm back at home, stuck here, cleaning your CPAP machine. Hooray for Meemaw! She wins again! Probably the last time I'm ever going to do it, so I want to get my Meemaw. So Trump and Fox spent a lot of time sniping, which is why it's only natural that Trump returned today to his safe space, the place he feels most at home, most comfortable, and that's with his family, his loved ones.

19:06He gathered today for some much-needed private reflection with his wife and children so they could reconnect and digest the results Wait, sorry, I'm reading all this wrong. He was at his ballroom. It'll be the most beautiful ballroom, I think, anywhere in the world. And they've been trying to get in for 150 years. The ceilings are over 50 feet high. That's like a five-story building. And I don't think there's any ballroom. I doubt there's a ballroom in the country with a 50-foot ceiling. You'll be able to have dinners for as many people as you want. You know, these beams are among the heaviest beams ever set.

19:38And Bo is telling me, we're talking about it. If you look at that roof, that roof could actually hold helicopters on it, as big as the yard. Whereas normally, as you know, I say this for the media, a helicopter, if it touched that roof, would come right through the ceiling. You could put as many helicopters as you want on the roof. I mean, he's like sadder than a high schooler with a broken leg. You guys want to sign my beam? Why is he suddenly obsessed with putting helicopters on the roof? Is it because he's desperate for an escape? You can put a helicopter there, and you can even drop a rope ladder so a president, even one that weighs, say, 230, 239 pounds, give or take, could grab it and fly away.

20:23There's even room for a second helicopter in case the first one breaks. And quick, everybody, look over there. What's with all those signatures behind you? Everybody in the room signed it, all of the workers, not just the steel workers, the plumbers, the electricians, the painters, everybody signed it, and I'm going to be the last to sign it. That's your reaction to a historic repudiation Republicans themselves have called an extinction-level event? Not to sign a new law that might address some of the concerns American Express with their votes, but to sign a beam? What are you going to do next, carve your name into a tree?

20:59There's so much more to say about this seismic result, and we'll have a lot more time to unpack it as the days go on. But for now, the simple fact is that 10 years after he first fell ass-backwards into the presidency, voters have fully and unequivocally repudiated Trump and his MAGA movement. There can be no mistaking how the voters feel and what this election means. When we look back on Trump's legacy, the nicest thing historians will be able to say about it is that... It had a bad aroma. This has been A Closer Look.

21:32Our guest tonight is an Emmy-winning An Academy Award nominated actor You know from his work in films such as Dangerous Liaisons, Being John Malkovich In the Line of Fire and Con Air He stars in Wild Horse 9 Which will be in theaters this Friday, November 6th Please welcome back to the show John Malkovich, everybody

21:59Welcome back, John Thank you Congratulations on this film, it's really wonderful It's funny, it's beautiful, it's sad It's all these things that Martin McDonough The director, the screenwriter Does so well This is the first time you've worked with Martin But not the first time he's tried to work with you Well, and me, him But both times I was approached about one other film Of Martin's and also a play And Sam Rockwell Who's in Wild Horse 9 Of course He was in both of those But I was committed to God knows what It is something not as interesting. But that's the problem. You are a man who stands by your commitments.

22:39So when something more interesting comes along, you stick with the first thing. Yeah, you kind of have to. This is, you're almost never seen without a hat in the film. And, you know, again, I think so much of it. It's such a beautiful film. And you realize how much wardrobe design, you know, brings to this costume design. Was the hat your choice? The type was they wanted a hat, and I thought the 70s would be best with that kind of pork pie style that Gene Hackman wore in Friends Connection. That is it. And that, so maybe the style is the one I improved of, but the costumer had all the ideas and is terrific costuming.

23:26You and Sam play CIA agents who are maybe not of the highest character. Well, yeah, they may not be unique. That's true. They're not standouts, are you saying? And they also announce in the first minute that they're in Chile to destabilize the democracy. Yeah. Then proceed to do... You know, again, you're a great actor, just great dialogue. It's very fun to spend time with the characters, but they are kind of ass. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sam and I thought of them as kind of American jackasses. Yeah. And it is. I mean, it is like I mean, again, not all American jackasses in foreign lands are there to destabilize the region.

24:13But you also have some are there for even more worries. Exactly. Some are worse. They're just tourists. Yeah. Yeah. Summer influences That's right Yeah That's true There are great restaurant scenes Sam, even your character calls out That Sam's character Does a lot of eating But Sam does some tremendous Eat acting in this film He's a fantastic eating actor He has everything organized You know, the little throw up bucket. Oh, right. The food is very carefully arranged and everything. That's so funny to hear because, of course, he looks like he's just eating anything in front of him. But, of course, shame on me for forgetting everything is choreographed when you're making the film.

25:05Did you have any memorable eating on stage or on film that you remember? One of the biggest compliments I ever got to do with theater besides some French actress saying to me one day, you're so macho. And I said, that's like the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. How extraordinary, what an extraordinary thought. Yeah, to hear that with a French accent, you're like, oh my God. So macho. But I did a play here in New York in 1990 that was a kind of satire on the first Gulf War. and it was called The States of Shock written by Sam Shepard and in that I had a long monologue about kind of how great war is if I remember correctly to use the shorthand.

26:04During the monologue I was served a hot fudge sundae with three scoops, banana, hot fudge, cherry on top, etc. and rather than kind of dabble at it, I just decided, wouldn't it be nice to put the whole thing in my mouth at once and then do the monologue? And Sam Shepard, the playwright, said he thought it was the most courageous thing he'd ever seen on stage. And I did it every night. Wow. I mean, that's a real skill. Even if I loved a sundae, I don't know if I could do it in one bite. Yeah, I have a big mouth. That's the secret You can't really teach that in acting school You either have it or you don't Steve Buscemi is in the film as well Yes Obviously another fantastic actor You both work together in the film Con Air I like it if they say In the art film Con Air In the art film Yes In the cinema You prefer cinema to film even Con Air I've heard you talk about it and I really enjoy hearing you talk about it.

27:13It was you, Steve Vingrams, Nick Cage, and then a great many other sort of, not extras per se, but sort of a rough and tumble lot of convicts. Yeah, people who personally wouldn't necessarily let in my house. Yeah. Maybe the yard or somewhere like that. Oh, so if you had them over, you would be saying like... It would be a barbecue. Yeah, it wouldn't be inside. And they'd be like, Hey, can I use the bathroom? You'd be like, no, you can't. There's a hedge. There's a tree. Go back there. No, we, in Con Air, you had people like Marty McSorley, who was a very famous enforcer. Yeah. And I had a scene with him and Simon West, the director, was kind of saying, actually, you know, you sort of go here, blah, blah.

28:05and so he was supposed to grab me and kind of put me against the wall and he just picked me up like this. And I was just kind of there like half foot off the ground going... And they're not even aware. Yeah. And one of my favorite memories of it was they kept asking me, we were in a place called Wendover, Nevada, which is kind of a remote place the Bonneville Salt Flats and not there is a casino there but that's about it and they kept asking me to go to this bar they frequented and you know I'd kind of say well actually I have this writer here we're working on a screenplay thank you it's so kind of you you gentlemen etc and then finally, Nicholas, the guy I was working with, left and went back to England.

29:04And so I didn't really have any excuse. So I said, okay, well, what is the name of this bar? And they said it's called American Bush. And it wasn't referring to trees or shrugging. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It wasn't topiary theme. No, yeah. No, and it's just kind of, listen, I think I have to do something else. I don't think I need to go to American Bush. Thank you. Oh, I feel so bad for the people who worked at American Bush that were promised you were going to show up. Yeah, yeah. Well, I think they survived. Hey, thanks so much for being here again. Congrats on the film. Thank you. Thank you.

29:57Late Night with Seth Meyers airs weeknights on NBC at 1235, 1135 Central. Original music on the Late Night Podcast is by the HE Band. Don't forget to follow the handle LateNightSeth on social media and tell your friends to subscribe to the Late Night Podcast wherever they get their podcasts.