Seth Meyers calls Trump a visionary, innovator, great president, even better golfer in joke following ABCs indefinite suspension of Kimmel

One day after “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was pulled off the air, comedian Seth Meyers slammed the Trump administration’s “crackdown” on free speech during his late-night show, while calling it a “privilege” to know Kimmel.“Donald Trump is on his way back from a trip to the United Kingdom, where he was met with protest, while back here at home, his administration is pursuing a crackdown on free speech,” Meyers said before his “A Closer Look” segment.“And completely unrelated, I just want to say before we get started here that I’ve always admired and respected Mr.Trump,” Meyers joked.“I’ve always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, an even better golfer, and if you’ve ever seen me say anything negative about him, that’s just AI,” he sarcastically quipped.

The comedian, 51, then followed his sarcasm with a joke-filled monologue poking fun at Trump’s visit to the UK.“Say what you will about the Trump administration, but the issue is clearly very important to them,” Meyers said, playing several clips of the president declaring he was “bringing back free speech in America.”He then played several news clips and interviews about ABC’s decision to fire Kimmel — including remarks from Vermont Sen.Bernie Sanders, who stated the decision to axe the show took a page from an authorization playbook.“May I just say, it is a privilege and honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend, the same way it is a privilege and honor to do this show every night.

I wake up every day and count my blessings that I at least live in a country that purports to value freedom of speech,” Meyers said.“We’re going to keep doing our show like we always do with enthusiasm and integrity,” Meyers said as a sound bite of a fart played over his words.A guest appearance from actor Jason Bateman — who had earlier slammed Kimmel’s suspension — followed Meyers’ monologue.His appearance comes on the heels of his remarks on the �...