Kate McKinnon | with Trump Rejects Iran Deal as GOP Turns on Him, MTG Says MAGA Is Dead, Xi Tours Ballroom: A Closer Look

0:02The U.S. Postal Service has unveiled a new set of forever stamps that feature chipmunks and squirrels as part of the new RFK Dinner Collection.

0:16From 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 and comedian Kate McKinnon. But first, a closer look.

0:34Donald Trump said he rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as Republicans openly broke with him and called for an end to the war. For more on this, it's time for A Closer Look.

0:49If you're a Republican who's freaking out about high gas prices and the GOP's awful poll numbers heading into the midterm elections, don't worry. The president made it clear this weekend, We are doing awesome. Our nation is winning. We had an incredible meeting with President Xi last and for a long time. I mean, actually, two days, if you think about it. And we made tremendous progress. This last three days has been very amazing. That was a great meeting with President Xi, and a lot of good things are happening. All right, first of all, what do you mean it lasted two days if you think about it?

1:28It was two days. You don't have to think about it. Sorry, we don't need to think about it. You probably do, considering you immediately followed up your two-day observation with this. This last three days has been very amazing. Just trying to keep it straight here from the records. How many days was it, brother? Two days? Three days? Was it two days of meetings and then one day of you basking in the glow of how much fun you had with your new best friend? Melania's probably so sick of hearing you talk about it. Mel? Mel, wasn't that just, like, the best two days ever? Do you think she likes me?

2:01No, not Natalie Harp. President Xi, XI. By the way, you're lucky I have Natalie Mail. Do you want to open my umbrella? Do you want to print up little articles for me on your portable printer? I didn't think so, Mail. Also, whether it was one, two, or three days, it didn't seem like you got a lot of work done in those meetings with Xi. Mostly, I saw you babbling about the White House renovations, like, you know, the ballroom. And if I could go off script just for a second, I just want to say as a special treat in honor of President Xi and Madam Peng, I'd like to invite everyone in the room to visit through that beautiful curtain in the back.

2:43The door is all lit up and looks beautiful. It's one year away from completion, the new ballroom that you've heard about. And you will see something that I think you will really love. So in honor of you, you'll be the first people to step foot on that. This is in honor of President Xi. First of all, if someone invites you to go through that beautiful curtain in the back, you need to get the out of there. It's like the first scene in a horror movie that takes place in an antique store. Did you say you were looking for Hummel figurines? I believe I have some through the beautiful curtain in the back.

3:24Before we go, let me ask, does anyone know you're here? Also, isn't this bull - ballroom of yours supposed to include a bunch of top-secret military facilities? And if it does, maybe don't do the tour with the heads of foreign governments? Must be so easy to be a spy these days. This is Falcon. I'm on the premises, and I have eyes on the ballroom door. As planned, I will create a distraction and then wait. Hold up. Sounds like you might just be giving us a tour. Also, I'm sure the translator panicked when Trump said he was going off script. Can you imagine having to translate unscripted Trump into another language?

4:03It's hard enough translating him into English. Like, seriously, how would you translate this? Saudi Arabia and Russia will repeat... Ah.

4:17If you're a translator in that situation, what do you do? Even Google Translate would say, Who the knows? Maybe I'm being too hard on Trump. He said they had great meetings, and I'm sure they did. I mean, we do have important topics to discuss with Xi, like tariffs, war, AI. Let's hear how those meetings went. We had a great meeting, and he has great interest in granite. He likes granite. He's an expert on stone, aside from many other things. And he loves good granite. Thank you very much. Stop pretending that everyone else is interested in the same dumb you're interested in. First of all, outside of you, no one has a great interest in granite.

4:58If you meet someone who says they have a great interest in granite, odds are they're also going to go through their beautiful curtain in the back. Would you like to see some of our newest granite? It's right back here. No, why not? Because you're not a loser. Well, that's harsh language. Also, what is Trump's obsession with Xi and granite? President Xi, who's a piece of granite He's tough and smart, he's at the top of his game Mel, didn't you think he looked like granite? Of course, Trump's slathering praise all over Xi Got a lot of criticism from Democrats and Republicans But if you ask his lackeys Trump's behavior is just standard diplomacy Obviously, this trip got some flack Even some Republicans wanted the president to be tougher with Xi and not really, you know, giving him this lavish welcome.

5:52What's your response to the critics out there that just didn't like the way this trip looked? This is a key part of diplomacy. This is reciprocity. President Xi had quite a reception for President Trump in Beijing. President Trump is the host in chief. No, he's not. He's the president. He's not standing behind a little podium at Applebee's. Good news, Donald. You've been promoted from head waiter to host-in-chief. Host-in-chief sounds like something you'd yell while planning a baby shower. Back off, Kayleigh. I'm the host-in-chief of this baby shower. Of course, one of the other main topics Trump was supposed to discuss with Xi was the war in Iran, which has driven on gas prices and put Republicans in major political trouble.

6:32But again, one of Trump's cabinet members gave him a cool new nickname that should put your concerns at ease. We still have higher energy prices than we'd like, and nobody's bothered more by that than President Trump. He is the energy president. Sorry, what? You want us to believe this is the energy president? I think that's the NyQuil president. He looks like a wax statue. When he leaves office, he should just get a job at Madame Tussauds as himself. But energy prices are, of course, the big thing dragging down Trump and the Republicans heading into the midterms. In fact, gas prices have gotten so bad, Republicans are now breaking with Trump and calling for an end to the war in Iran.

7:13Tonight, the growing GOP divide over Iran. Seven House Republicans breaking with President Trump, voting for a largely symbolic resolution directing the president to end the war. 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. In a new campaign ad, Roger says the war needs to end and end quickly. The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly. And you can believe him because he's in a grocery store. Just like us. Everyone knows you can't lie when you're standing next to tomatoes.

7:52I love these inauthentic campaign ads inside grocery stores where no one is shopping. If this were a real grocery store, he'd have an 82-year-old with a shopping cart full of soup cans yelling, Excuse me, you're standing in an aisle That's how people sound in Michigan, right? Candidates with actual riz don't have to make phony ads like this Like, take Zoran Mamdani Like, most of the time he's either on the subway or a city bike Or he's in those soccer shorts that are a little too short Talk about a piece of granite This feels wrong somehow You know, we're not supposed to see the mayor's knees I mean, the closest we came to seeing Rudy Giuliani's was when he almost took his pants off in that Borat movie.

8:36Remember that? That was a thing that happened. Both of these candidates supported the war in the first place. Now they're against it because it's hurting them in the polls. And I'm sure Trump is listening, right? President Trump spoke just moments ago, rejecting Iran's proposal for a ceasefire. While I'm rejecting the deal, they want to make a deal where they open the strain immediately because they're losing so badly. That deal would not be acceptable. What's your biggest takeaway from Iran? And what they want to do is immediately open the harmless straight. Wait, isn't that what we want? And if they're willing to do what we want, shouldn't we let that happen?

9:09Like, why won't you take the win? For example, the hardest part of my life is getting my kids to bed. And if one of them said, I'm pretty tired, I think I'm going to call it a night, I'd be over the moon. I wouldn't say, no, you're not. You're going to sit down with me and drink this Red Bull, young man. So Republicans are breaking with Trump, which is noteworthy, because for years they claimed that Trump and the MAGA movement had fully transformed the GOP. We are a pro-America populist party rooted in conservative principle with Donald Trump as our leader. We're in favor of an America first economic policy, an America first foreign policy, and that means doing what's good for the American worker.

9:47The Republican Party is the party of steel workers and construction workers and pipeline workers and taxi cab drivers and cops and firefighters and waiters and waitresses. Is he reading a speech or a Richard Scary book? I love how they never list the jobs they eliminated thanks to doge cuts. And the Republican Party is not the party of health officials, which is why taxi drivers and waiters and steelworkers all have explosive diarrhea. Also, I don't know why anyone would believe that billionaire Donald Trump would be a working-class hero. because he does a lot of talking and dances like he's holding two hammers?

10:37The point is, Republicans claim they had gone through a rebrand. No more foreign wars, no more kowtowing to rich guys who outsource jobs. They were the party of blue-collar working class thanks to Trump and the MAGA movement. So how is that going? What does the future look like for MAGA right now? I think Trump has lied so much to us and betrayed us so incredibly beyond any of my comprehension. I think MAGA is dead. Oh, my God. Are you saying Donald Trump lied? Lied?

11:14Barum, barum, barum, barum. But what about the cops and firefighters and construction workers and taxi cab drivers? They're going to be so sad to hear about this, not to mention the garbage men and the McDonald's workers and the make-a-wish cowboys. So Marjorie Taylor Greene says MAGA is dead. She's not alone. Republican voters are turning on Trump more than they ever have before as we near the midterms. Among Republicans, he got 94 % of that vote against Kamala Harris. Look at his approval rating now. His approval rating now is 80%. So in fact, there has been a decline in the support for Trump among Republicans.

11:51Where does Trump compare to other Republicans at this point going into a second midterm election? Trump actually is the worst of any of the Republicans on your screen. He's in the worst shape. He's just at 80 % among Republicans at this point. Republicans traditionally have loved Donald Trump. But look at this. GOP strongly approved Trump. At the start of 2025, it was 71%. Look at where it is now. It's just 47%. And that's crushing because to a wannabe strongman like Trump, the only kind of approval that means anything is strong approval. His entire political existence is built on diehard supporters who blindly follow him no matter what.

12:28If you talk to someone in a cult, you never hear him say, Nah, I'll give it a week. The leader says if I pray to Gorlax enough, he'll show me what's behind that. Beautiful curtain in the back. Trump can't survive on normal approval. When people stop strongly approving, they say things like, hey, I just paid 100 bucks to fill up my gas tank, so if Iran wants to open the Strait of Hormuz, maybe let him. We're finally seeing real cracks in Trump's grip on the MAGA base. Who knows if it'll last, but the longer the war goes on, the worse it gets. Trump wants us all to think he has a plan, that everything's great, that his mind is like a steel trap, but it turns out it's more like...

13:04A piece of granite. This has been A Closer Look.

13:18Our guest tonight is an Emmy-winning actress and best-selling author. You know from her work on Saturday Night Live and films like Ghostbusters, Barbie, and the Roses, the latest in her children's book series The Millicent Quibb School of Ediquette. God damn it, I did it again.

13:37I'm so... I'm so nervous about Cara Banana at the end. Like, my brain's ahead of my etiquette for young ladies of mad science. The jungle of Cara Banana is in a story September 29th. Please welcome back to the show our very good friend Kate McKinnon, everybody.

14:01Hello, my dear friend. Oh, good to be here and good to see all of you. Yeah. Looking well. You know what I'm saying? I am so happy to have you here and have you looking so cosmopolitan because I, of course, know you to be a person who now lives in the woods. You've moved out of the city. You were a person of the woods. These clothes were chosen for me by a professional. Yes. Because I do live in the woods and I wear rags. Yes. And you're a very handy person in the woods. The last time you were here, you told a harrowing story about how you had to break down a door with an axe. Yes. A door in your own home Yes Which meant that you then had to rebuild a door Yes Now I would of course hire You know a door master Whatever you call a person who does that But you took on this You're a handy person No I want to do everything myself I've been doing light plumbing Electrical I did shock myself Was there a lesson learned after you shocked yourself?

15:04Try not to shock yourself I made, actually, I made you something. What did you make me? With my own hands, out of natural materials. Okay. I worked on it for three months. Oh, my goodness.

15:25It's a jar of tomato sauce. Okay, so I was going to make you...

15:32I was going to make you... A beautiful walnut nightstand with dovetail joints, Rubio monocote all the way, beautiful finish, turned legs. Instead, I made you this small jar of tomato sauce, but it did technically take three months, and a lot of labor was represented in this small jar, so don't drop it like I did. Drop another jar the other day and cry. I hope, when I picture you dropping a jar of tomato sauce, I just hope, among all hopes, that you weren't wearing this outfit. Even, by the way, are you carrying tomato sauce dressed in this white suit? I mean, although you do look like you're about to do an ad for your new line of tomato sauce.

16:20How many, how often do you make a, how many of these do you jar up? Every two days. Every two days? Every two days. I had so many tomatoes that every two days I would have, like, 40 more tomatoes. and have to be like, I'm sorry, I can't come tonight. I got to make sauce. And then when I'm done with the sauce, I got to can the sauce. How many cans deep of sauce? Like, if I went into your pantry, like, what percentage of it is just cans of sauce? I'm 25 deep right now, which I think will last me the winter. I was reticent to give this up, but that's how much I love you. Okay. I can spare this one half jar.

17:00Now, I mean, I'm going to eat this sauce, And I want to know, are you proud of your sauce? Are you good at the sauce? I think it's a good sauce. I think it's sealed properly. If not, you'll know. Yeah. You'll know when it falls out? It will smell. No, it will smell of rot. Of rot. So just, I think you'll know the difference. Is it true that you've had, speaking of smells and odors and the like, a recent run-in with wildlife? Because that's a part of your existence these days. Yes, there's a lot of wildlife that I encounter. I made a new friend, which was that I was sprayed by a skunk on my body.

17:41I was taking compost out in the night. Don't do that again. This was the same day that I got shocked. Maybe that's why I was doing it. Anyway, I was flattered. To be sprayed? Yes. Okay. I thought this animal recognizes me as a potential threat. Were you like post-electrocuting yourself, hair straight up? I had combed my hair, but it was still straight up because that's my hair. And then I, so yeah, I dumped the compost. I smelled it and I was like, oh, he sees that I'm a peer. I'm a wolf. I'm basically a wolf now. Right. And I felt flattered. How long does a... I mean, it's no joke when you get sprayed by a skunk.

18:27Like, how long did its sort of imprint stay with you? It was about... I could smell myself. I caught whiffs for about a week. Okay. I was at the gym. I know. I was at the... I thought it was gone. I was at the gym, and a guy came up to me, and I smelled it, and I was like, Oh, my God. He must think that I just happened to smell like a skunk. irrespective of being sprayed by a skunk. So I had to be like, I was... I am covered in chemicals that's sulfurous. I was sprayed. I have liquid from a skunk's glands on me. That's what you're spelling. It's not just me. I was worried when you moved to the woods, you'd get worse at small talk, but it seems like you really still have it under control.

19:21Thank you. Yeah.

19:25I was straight. Thank you so much. You don't understand. Yeah. This is, congratulations, the third Millicent Quibb book. You said, I remember us talking, it took you 12 years to write the first one, a year to write the second one. How long did it take you to write the third one? Also a year. Okay, so that's good. You got it down to a year. Yes. Yeah. For quality control, it's probably never going to get less than a year. Yes. It takes that long to go through all the drafts, like five to 1 ,800 drafts. Yeah. And you did the audio book with your sister, which is lovely. I did. My beautiful sister, Emily, comedian as well.

20:04We did it together. And how many different kinds of Kate McKinnon voices are in the audio book? Like, what's the range you're working with on this? About eight to 12. Do you have a favorite? Do I have a favorite voice from the audiobook? Well, not my own. And just real quick, you wrote this yourself.

20:28You're being real right now.

20:36Of course I'm being real. Why would I deceive you? You know?

20:46I have no reason to deceive you.

20:53I wrote it. I have a computer and I wrote it. I'm just trying to connect with you as a human being.

21:07We'll be right back with more Kate McCann.

21:13Welcome back. We're here with Kate McKinnon. We mentioned your sister, Emily. Yes. Appears on the audiobook. Also was married. And look at you, officiating the wedding. How about that? Oh, yes. Are you a natural? Are you a good officiant? I am a member of the clergy. I would hope so. I am a member of the Universal Life Ministry. This is the one you can kind of just, like, go online, click, click, and you're a minister? Technically, yes. but also you have to be really good. And, you know, I would like to think that I am. I carry the card with me in my backpack and it's the proudest, the thing I'm proudest of is the$15 I paid, yes.

22:00With the card in your backpack, have you ever been called into service sort of by strangers who need someone with your credentials? You know, I've volunteered to do a makeshift baptism, what have you. No one has taken me up on it yet, but if anyone needs a priestly right here today in the audience, I love to shepherd people from one part of life into the next, birth to death, full service. Have you done any funerals? You're offering yourself for that as well? Don't hire me for a funeral. I will mess it up. But one day, one day, I'm going to do a really solid fune. I just can feel it. Oh, yeah.

22:52I think if you call it a fune, that's a good sign you're not ready. You've been going to schools to promote your book, which I would imagine, knowing you and knowing how much you like young people with active minds, it must be so fun to go to schools. Oh, it's amazing. I was with these kids in Jackson, Mississippi just the other day, and I was asking them to come up with their own mad science animal, and they thought of stuff that was way better than anything I thought of in three books. Whoops. Should have called them. Do you remember when you were a kid, the kind of people that came to your school?

23:34Oh, yeah. There was this lady who came on, like, STD day. And she would just walk out, say no words, just would walk out and would be like, Blood, semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk. blood, semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk, and then would sort of explain, like, those are some methods of transmission of STDs. But we were stuck just on that first, those first words. Yeah, very hard to get over that. Yes, yes. Like, you're just kind of stuck with that. And then we had Karate Joe. And Karate Joe came with his girlfriend. And Karate Joe... Was this on Karate Day? or? This was unlike Christmas. This was just...

24:29Karate Joe would put his girlfriend into various headlocks. This is on Long Island. This is on Long Island in the 90s. For anybody who's like, no, that doesn't make sense. Sure. He would say, I'm Karate Joe and this is my girlfriend and she would go... And then he would put her in a headlock so just do that and her role would be to go... And when she couldn't take it anymore, she would just double tap the ground. And that was our introduction to sort of gender roles and I guess karate. But I think it said more about like gender roles. I don't know what we were supposed to extrapolate from that.

25:15But she never said a word. Real quick before you go. And congratulations again on the book. A question about the tomato sauce. Yeah, yeah. You made this, right?

25:33You're being real with me right now. I'm always being real. Why would I deceive you? I made the tomatoes. I made the sauce.

25:58I'm always being real Kate McKinnon, everyone!

26:08Late 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.