John Mayer and Conan O'Brien had a very candid discussion about Donald Trump on the Sunday, January 28, episode of the comedian's podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend."
The two talked about how someone's public speaking skills can change people's perceptions of them, as they noted that having a strong voice gives a sense of authority.
"Sadly, I think it works in politics too, where someone you think is a complete idiot, if they say things with great authority, and I'm not naming names..." the former late night talk show host, 60, quipped.
"If Donald Trump weren't saying the things he was saying, and was saying things that are benign, he’d have a lovely speaking voice," insisted Mayer, 46, claiming the former president "could have narrated Royal Tennebaums and it would be great."
"If he says it loudly, everyone goes, 'That's a leader!'" said O'Brien.
"I like when he reads from the teleprompter, then reacts to the teleprompter as he's speaking," Mayer joked of Trump, 77.
"He's sort of reading for the first time. And you can always feel the binary when he goes, oh yeah they should be," the singer added of how the Republican often repeats himself.
While O'Brien has shared his thoughts about the ex-POTUS in the past, he also pointed out that mocking the businessman doesn't really spark laughter from fans.
"The truest, most visceral comedy to me is always going to be Warner Brothers cartoons that were made in the 1940s and '50s. That’s the stuff I grew up on that was shown in rerun," he explained in a separate interview. "So I liked that kind of comedy. I was never as comfortable with comedy where I needed to make a point about something."
"I actually think Trump has been — people say all kinds of, you know, he’s committed all these different horrible acts. But I think one of the worst is I think he’s bad for comedy," the TV star continued.
"You can’t parody something that already has that crazy irregular shape. It’s not possible," said O'Brien. "So I always thought that when Trump came along, what a lot of people have to revert to is, ‘Doesn’t he s---? I hate that guy. He’s an a-------.’ And those aren’t jokes."
The dad-of-two has also shared the story of the first time he had Trump on his late night show.
"I asked him a question that I’d always wanted to ask someone who proclaimed to be a billionaire: 'How much money do you have on you right now?'" O'Brien recalled. "'He sort of said, 'I don’t know, I maybe have some.' I said, 'No, no, what do you have?' Then he stuck his hand in his pocket and he clearly found something."
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"I saw his face change, and I could see that he didn’t want me to know what it was. So I reached over and I was like, 'Come on, come on.' I made him pull it out — and it was a condom. He said, 'Practice safe s-- everybody.' He was in-between marriages at the time," the star added.
O'Brien admitted Trump was very angry over the situation.
"He walked over to my producer and said, 'That’s the last time I’m gonna be on this f------- show. He humiliated me in front of everybody.' He stormed out," O'Brien shared. "Cut to me seven more times [over the years]: 'Ladies and gentlemen, Donald Trump!' He got over it, clearly."
The Messenger reported on Mayer and O'Brien's chat.
