Seth Meyers jokes Tim Walz copied his ‘Republicans are weird’ line: ‘I’ve made a whole career out of it’

Late-night show host joked: ‘I don’t want to brag or anything but we’ve been banging the Republicans are weird drum for like five years’

Seth Meyers has joked that it was him – not Kamala Harris’s vice presidential pick Tim Walz – who truly first coined the “Republicans are weird” phrase that is currently taking the election season by storm.

Late Night with Seth Meyers returned on Monday night after a three-week hiatus, meaning the comedian star had a juicy mountain of headlines to catch up on around the 2024 presidential election.

Meyers was almost out of breathe by the time he finished reeling off the long list of events and controversies to have taken place in the world of politics since his last episode.

“I think it’s time to take another three weeks off. Just kidding, for more on this – Jesus! ‘More’?!” he exclaimed much to his audience’s delight.

One of his personal highlights was the “Republicans are weird” line which has spread like wildfire across social media, interviews and campaign rallies ever since Walz first said it.

But Meyers joked that Walz is getting credit for his genius, saying that it’s a line he’s been pushing for his whole career.

Playing a montage of him calling Trump and other Republicans weirdos over the years on his show, Meyers feigned dismay that he wasn’t rewardeed in the same way as Harris’s running mate.

Seth Meyers joked he was calling Republicans ‘weird’ long before Tim Walz (Late Night With Seth Meyers)

“Tim Walz says it once on TV and he’s the VP nominee. Meanwhile, I didn’t even make the shortlist!” Meyers cried.

“I’ve made a whole career out of it! That was the original title of this show.”

Meyers added: “I don’t want to brag or anything but we’ve been banging the ‘Republicans are weird’ drum for like five years.”

The late-night host also pointed out that the insult has clearly gotten under Trump’s skin, playing a clip of the former president at his rally in Montana on Friday.

“No we’re not weird – we’re very solid people,” claimed the Republican presidential nominee. “I think we’re very – actually I think we’re the opposite of weird. They’re weird.”

“If someone calls you weird and your response is, ‘we’re very solid people,’ you’re f*****g weird,” joked Meyers.

Pointing to side-by-side photos of the Republican ticket Trump and JD Vance, he said: “Imagine the humiliation of having to pretend that in that pairing you’re the weird one.”

Trump and Vance have been struggling to shake the “weird” tagline – particularly in light of a string of controversies.

Trump spoke with Musk for over two hours in an X Spaces interview on Monday (Margo Martin/X/Reuters)

On Monday night, Trump took part in an interview with Elon Musk on X Spaces where he rambled about how much “beautiful” Harris looks like his wife Melania Trump.

This comes after Trump faced backlash for questioning Harris’s race – and then doubling down on it – claiming that “she happened to turn Black” in a panel interview with Black journalists in Chicago last month.

Vance meanwhile continues to defend himself following criticism over his 2021 comments where he called Harris and other Democrats “childless cat ladies”.

While Republicans have done their best to give their own nicknames to Walz and Harris, they can’t seem to get them to stick.

Trump has called Harris “Laffin’ Kamala,” “Lyin’ Kamala” and even just “Kamabla” – all attempts which have so far failed to land.

Meanwhile, Walz was called “Tampon Tim” last week by Republicans over a bill he signed into law in Minnesota last year, making free sanitary products available in student restrooms across Minnesota schools.