Trump's Latest Iran Threat, Eric Trump's Pentagon Grift, GOP Gerrymandering Backfires: A Closer Look

0:02 -Republicans are fuming over Donald Trump's failed gerrymandering

0:04 strategy which could cost them their jobs in November.

0:06 Meanwhile, the Trump family is facing

0:09 backlash after cashing in on government contracts.

0:11 For more on this, It's time for "A Closer Look."[

0:14 Cheers and applause] There's a lot going on right now.

0:19 Fuel supply shortages, cabinet turmoil, war spiraling out of control,

0:23 but we have to start off with the biggest news of the day.

0:25 After 12 straight losses, the New York Mets won a baseball game, baby.

0:29 Cheers and applause] As you may know, as you may have heard,

0:34 there's been some concern here at "Late Night" that we

0:36 might have been responsible for the Mets losing streak because Mr.

0:39 and Mrs.

0:39 Met came to visit our set on opening day,

0:42 and they gave cue card Wally a Mets jersey, even though Wally is a Yankees fan.

0:46 So the rest of my crew decided that if the Mets lost one more game,

0:50 the only way to break the curse would be

0:52 to burn Wally's Met Jersey with Wally inside it.

0:57 But now the Mets have won, which means Wally survived.

0:59 How does it feel, Wally?

1:01 -Yeah.

1:01 Not great, Seth.

1:02 My friends were going to burn me— burn me alive and light me on fire.

1:05 -Yeah, yeah, but they didn't.

1:06 So what are you complaining about?

1:08 -They soaked it in gasoline.

1:09 The fumes are giving me a headache.

1:11 -Yeah, I know, but, Wally, as we've said before,

1:13 you are a Yankees fan, so you...

1:15 -I deserve it.

1:16 -That's right.

1:17 Laughter] -By the way,

1:19 there's been a lot of speculation about who cursed the Mets.

1:22 I mean, was it us?

1:23 Was it New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani?

1:25 But we here at "Late Night" have another theory.

1:27 In 2006, the Mets were eliminated from the playoffs

1:30 by the Cardinals when their star player, Carlos Beltrán, struck out looking.

1:34 It's one of the Mets fans most painful memories.

1:36 It started a decade long spiral for the team.

1:38 Now, I'm going to show you a picture of that horrible moment.

1:41 See if you spot any familiar faces.

1:45 Oh, my God!

1:47 Laughter] Oh, my God.

1:52 Applause] He is like Forrest Gump, but only for bad stuff.

2:00 My favorite part of that picture is how Trump's not even wearing any Met stuff.

2:05 Not wearing a raincoat, he's just standing there in a suit at a baseball game,

2:09 like a business angel of death.

2:13 It's like a horror movie where some teenagers steal cufflinks off a dead body,

2:16 and then they see this dude everywhere they go.

2:19 "I'm telling you, Jaden, he was at the party."[ Laughter] Of course,

2:25 it would make sense that Trump would curse

2:27 a baseball team because he curses everything he's involved in.

2:29 The only person who ever benefited from Donald Trump's success is Donald Trump.

2:32 Everything else he touches turned to [bleep].

2:34 I mean, look what happened when

2:36 Trump started a gerrymandering war with Democrats.

2:38 -President Trump is all in on a Texas Republican plan to redistrict the state.

2:43 President said he thinks the redrawing districts

2:47 at this time could net five extra GOP seats,

2:51 which could be enough to hold the House majority in the midterms.

2:56 -I think we get five, and there could be some other states.

2:59 We're going to get another three or four or five in addition.

3:03 Texas would be the biggest one, and that'll be fine.

3:06 -We have to gerrymander to the tilt.

3:09 Why?

3:11 Because the Democratic Party cannot be

3:13 trusted to be the opposition party anymore.

3:16 They have to be a permanent minority.

3:19 -Yeah, Democrats can't be trusted anymore.

3:20 They jacked up gas prices, started a reckless war with Iran, pissed off Canada,

3:25 threatened to invade Greenland,

3:26 and passed a law where you can only dance with your arms.

3:31 Trump looks like one of those Chinese marathon

3:33 running robots If only the top half worked.

3:36 Laughter and applause] So that was Fox host Jesse Watters last year saying

3:42 Republicans should rig congressional maps to make

3:44 it impossible for Democrats to win.

3:45 The Democrats responded with their own gerrymanders, like in Virginia,

3:48 where there was a vote on Tuesday to redraw the lines in favor of Democrats.

3:53 Let's tune in to see who won that battle.

3:56 -Fox news alert.

3:57 According to the AP, voters in Virginia have approved Democrats plan

4:01 to gerrymander congressional districts, 50% to 49%.

4:05 This could flip four House seats from Republican control to Democrats.

4:09 -First of all, I just want to say to the Fox executive who decided Jesse

4:12 Watters should be the one who was on air to deliver that news, I mean, bravo.

4:15 The only way those two clips could have been any better is

4:18 if the first chyron said "[Bleep] Around," and the second one said,

4:22 "Finding out." And now, like clockwork,

4:24 Republicans are angry at Trump for starting

4:27 a dumb gerrymandering war that they're now losing.

4:30 One Republican member of Congress told Axios...

4:42 And that's the problem.

4:43 You're talking about Donald Trump.

4:44 The man can't play chess.

4:45 He's always playing Hungry Hungry Hippos.

4:50 And you just know that when Trump plays,

4:51 he tips the board so the marbles go toward his hippo.

4:53 Although this is pretty cool.

4:55 There's a new special edition where the hippos are

4:57 replaced by Trump and the marbles are replaced by hamburgers.

5:03 Laughter] That was our entire graphics budget for the year.

5:08 All 25 bucks went right...

5:11 Laughter] So Republicans are now on the verge of losing

5:15 the House because of Trump's inability to think ahead.

5:17 But if you're a Republican member of Congress

5:19 who's about to lose your job, don't worry.

5:22 The Trump family is still making bank.

5:25 -The use of humanoid robots on the battlefield

5:28 as they play an expanded role in America's national security.

5:31 Foundation Future Industries, a robotics startup,

5:34 aims to develop these autonomous humanoid robots.

5:38 The company just secured a $24 million

5:40 contract with the Pentagon for its phantom robot

5:43 to begin tests with the Marine Corps

5:45 and help troops breach enemy sites more safely.

5:48 Joining us now is Foundation Future Industries founder and CEO Sankaet Pathak,

5:52 and the company's Chief Strategy Advisor, Eric Trump.

5:55 President Trump's son.

5:57 Congratulations to you both.

5:58 Thank you so much for being here.

6:00 -Now, for anyone surprised that Eric Trump's

6:02 title is Chief Strategy Advisor, I can explain.

6:06 It was too hard to fit "Dips[bleep] who just

6:08 happens to be the president's son" on a business card.

6:11 Also, she for real said congratulations to you both.

6:14 Where were Hunter Biden's congratulations when he sold one of his paintings?

6:19 At least when Hunter sold a painting, it wasn't to the government.

6:22 You didn't see it hanging behind Joe Biden on the wall of the Oval Office.

6:27 As Biden] Yeah, yeah.

6:28 My son Hunter painted that one.

6:30 Uh, it's a weird— it's a weird floaty tree.

6:35 I like it.

6:37 I'm not kidding around.

6:38 Only $24 million.

6:40 That's a steal.

6:42 Try, just try, yeah.

6:46 Try to get a weird floaty tree for less than 24.

6:51 Laughter][ Normal voice] And one more thing.

6:54 This company that just got a massive Pentagon contract,

6:55 it makes humanoid robots, and it's run by a Trump.

6:59 I just hope our enemies don't discover the robot's fatal flaw.

7:03 They can only move their arms.

7:06 Ooh, looks like we had a little graphics money left over.

7:11 So the president's family is dining at the taxpayer trough.

7:14 Meanwhile, the rest of us are getting hit with price hikes

7:17 and supply shortages as a result of Trump's war with Iran.

7:20 -Global markets reacting to the latest instability in the Strait of Hormuz.

7:25 -Gas prices now averaging $4 a gallon,

7:27 up more than a dollar since the war began.

7:30 -It's not just oil and gas.

7:32 It's also fertilizer and urea and nitrogen and helium

7:34 and all these critical components that go into everything

7:36 that you and I have in our homes and are about to buy at the grocery store.

7:40 -Jet fuel prices have nearly doubled and production largely halted in the Gulf.

7:44 Recovery could take months.

7:46 Airlines worldwide are feeling the impact.

7:48 More than a dozen major carriers,

7:50 including Delta and United, have already cut flights.

7:54 -The struggling discount carrier Spirit Airlines could get

7:57 a $500 million bailout from the Trump administration.

8:00 The company has already filed for bankruptcy twice and now faces

8:03 new challenges like higher jet fuel costs due to the Iran war.

8:07 -Man, I knew Donald Trump was on tilt,

8:08 but I didn't think he'd buy Spirit Airlines.

8:11 Imagine if things were going bad already

8:13 and your spouse came home and told you that.

8:15 "Honey, I know you've been having some money troubles,

8:17 but I think I figured a way out of it.

8:19 Are you familiar with Spirit Airlines?

8:22 Honey, put the knife down." So now we might spend half a billion

8:27 dollars to bail out an airline because of a war we started,

8:30 and even Republicans are mad.

8:31 Ted Cruz called the Spirit Airlines bailout an absolutely terrible idea.

8:34 Remember, this is Ted Cruz.

8:35 Ted Cruz has Donald Trump's back all the time,

8:37 but even he can't go with him on this.

8:39 You know, he's like, "Mr.

8:41 President, you need to focus on bringing prices

8:42 down." And Trump's like, "I have a plan.

8:45 The federal government is going to take over T.J.

8:48 Maxx." "No, Mr.

8:49 President." "It's the— Ted, it's the Maxx for the minimum,

8:53 Ted." The Maxx for the minimum.

8:55 The minimum price." Trump knows how much of a mess this is.

8:58 He's so desperate to wriggle his way out

8:59 of it that now he's threatening to shoot

9:01 at Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz

9:04 and generally just posting like a maniac.

9:06 -He said, "I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat.

9:10 Small boats, though they may be, their naval ships are all,

9:14 159 of them, at the bottom of the sea,

9:17 that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz."

9:20 He went on to say there is to be no hesitation,

9:23 and later in this post said he is ordering that activity

9:26 to continue at what he called would be a tripled up level.

9:30 -Tripled up?

9:31 Again, my man is on tilt.

9:32 He sounds like a degenerate gambler who's losing at the craps table.

9:36 "Come on, Lady luck.

9:37 "Seven out." "Hey, let's call it a night,

9:40 Donny." "No, my luck's about to change, I know it.

9:42 I'm gonna triple up." "Snake eyes." "Snake

9:46 eyes?" I didn't know Stephen Miller is here.

9:51 The same strategic genius that started a gerrymandering war

9:54 is also the one that started the Iran war.

9:56 And in both cases, Trump is losing badly.

9:58 But he doesn't care because while everyone else suffers,

10:00 his family is cashing in, AKA his two...

10:04 -Humanoid robots.

10:06 -This has been "A Closer Look."[ Cheers and applause]