Jimmy Fallon fueled commentary over former U.S. President Donald Trump's ambitious White House ballroom project after it came into light that top tech companies were contributing to the project. On Thursday's edition of "The Tonight Show”, Fallon criticised the contentious plan, which calls for the removal of some of the current building to accommodate a luxurious new ballroom, calling the project something "nobody wants.”
Fallon said, “Yeah, and get this, Trump just raised the estimated cost of his new ballroom by $100 million, to a total of $300 million.” He further added, “America’s like, ‘It’s nice to know even the president can get ripped off on renovations.”
“Not the list of names we’re looking for”
But what actually got Fallon's attention was the donor list that's raising funds for the project. "Speaking of the ballroom, I saw that the White House just released the list of donors giving money to the project," the comedian added. "Americans heard and were like, ‘Yeah, still not the list of names we’re looking for. But you’re getting there. Closer. Give us the …”
The Wrap reported that the joke seemed to be a reference to the much-speculated Epstein files, which are said to contain names linked to the deceased child sex offender’s client list. The Trump administration has, however, labelled those records as a "hoax."
Tech giants among donors
Fallon further said, “Some donors include Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Although, when it comes to sponsoring a bigger ballroom, you’d think Fruit of the Loom and MeUndies would be involved.”
He said that Hard Rock International was also listed among the donors. “So, don’t be surprised when this (a giant guitar-shaped building) is the new East Wing," Fallon joked, referring to the company's distinctive architectural design.
A rare political swing
The segment was a political rarity for Fallon, who has been known to keep "The Tonight Show" largely apolitical relative to other late-night shows. In September, he said during an interview with CNBC that the show tries to balance its humour, The Wrap reported.
"We hit both sides equally, and we try to make everybody laugh, and that’s really the way our show works," at that time, Fallon said to CNBC. "Our monologues are kind of the same that we’ve been doing since Johnny Carson was doing ‘The Tonight Show’.”
