Seth Meyers on Bernie or Bust: "Be quiet"
NBC "Late Night" host Seth Meyers unveiled a new segment called "Hey!" to confront passionate "Bernie or Bust" supporters who continue to reject Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee.
"Hey! What's going on?" the comedian addressed the "Bernie or Bust" movement. "I tuned in last night, and there was more white booing than the Casper movie. Look, I know you're Bernie or Bust, but the results are in. Bust won. We don't have time for this."
The segment aired after the second night of the Democratic convention -- die-hard Sanders supporters roared their boos at the mention of Clinton's name, and after Sanders conceded the nomination, they walked out to stage a small sit-in at the media tent and then later continued their protest in the streets while former President Bill Clinton addressed the delegates.
Meyers berated the Sanders holdouts.
"Hey! Pay attention. We are on the cusp of electing a racist demagogue. That never ends well."
The Clinton and Sanders campaigns had planned Sanders' call for Clinton's nomination by acclamation prior to Tuesday's roll-call vote. The fact that the party nominated its first woman ever was beside the point to disgruntled Sanders supporters. Many of them remained upset by the Wikileaks email leak that revealed bias against Sanders on the part of top DNC officials during the primary season.
And in his new segment, Meyers didn't hesitate to call out the irony in tactics used by these demonstrators, pointing out that some had been interviewed by CBS News' Nancy Cordes.
"If you're going to put tape over your mouth to symbolize that you are being silenced, don't agree to do an interview," he said. "One or the other. Tape or talking. Can't do both."
His three-minute rant also celebrated the accomplishments of Bernie Sanders' grassroots movement, saying "Your passion changed the Democratic party, and that is no small thing. You should be proud of yourself for his campaign, but you also have to be quiet now. Now is the time to be quiet."
Seth Meyers isn't the first to scold "Bernie or Bust" supporters. Comedian Sarah Silverman told disruptive and relentless Bernie advocates, "You're being ridiculous," on Monday night.
Sanders supporter and surrogate Nomiki Konst has defended the Sanders supporters, though, and told CBSN what they were looking for. "Hillary should be reaching out a little bit more," she said. "She should be getting down on the ground listening to what they're concerns are, giving them a little bit more."