Jimmy Fallon Finally Stands Up to Donald Trump

Remember this?

Many criticized Jimmy Fallon for this moment and for “humanizing” Donald Trump during the presidential election. Fallon, never one to take criticism well, finally broke his silence on the issue in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

“I did not do it to ‘normalize’ him or to say I believe in his political beliefs or any of that stuff.”

“It just got bigger and out of control,” Fallon recalls, speaking in his office at 30 Rock. Then came the shots from Fallon’s colleagues. “I saw other comedians from other shows making fun of me on Twitter and I go, ‘Okay, now I’m just gonna get off,'” he says. “They know the show. I’m just doing five hours a week. I get in at 10 in the morning, I work ’til seven at night and I’m just trying to make a funny show. [Addressing them:] ‘You know the grind and you know me. Of all the people in the world, I’m one of the good people — I mean, really. You don’t even know what you’re talking about if you say that I’m evil or whatever.’ But people just jump on the train, and some people don’t even want to hear anything else. They’re like, ‘No, you did that!’ You go, ‘Well, just calm down and just look at the whole thing and actually see my body of work.'”

Fallon is the dude who wants to be friends with everyone. Him tussling Trump’s hair was nothing more than that. It was no worse than Saturday Night Live letting Trump host an episode during his campaign. In fact, that was far worse.

Trump, of course, felt the need to respond.

.@jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous “hair show” with me (where he seriously messed up my hair), & that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have “humanized” me-he is taking heat. He called & said “monster ratings.” Be a man Jimmy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2018

Upon five seconds of research, the show did not do “monster ratings.” Trump’s appearance did give Fallon his best ratings in months, but only a modest bump to the previous nights effort. The long-term damage was far worse as Stephen Colbert and The Late Show surpassed Fallon in the ratings.

Fallon took the President’s advice in his response.

In honor of the President’s tweet I’ll be making a donation to RAICES in his name.

— Jimmy Fallon (@jimmyfallon) June 25, 2018

RAICES is a Texas-based nonprofit that provides education and legal services to immigrant children, families and refugees.

And on this day, Fallon became a man.