US talk shows don’t seem to let up any opportunity to take digs at Donald Trump and his problematic American presidency. Unlike his counterparts, talk show host Jimmy Fallon has never been too outspoken on political matters, but he got right down and dirty in a special post-Super Bowl edition of The Tonight Show on Sunday.
Donning a wig, sunglasses, a guitar and harmonica, Fallon channelled Bob Dylan and sang an updated version of his 1964 song The Times They Are A-Changin’ at Minneapolis’s Orpheum Theatre, which Dylan previously owned. Of course, the entire clip was shot in black and white to add authenticity to the ’60s Dylan impersonation, when the singer was at the height of his political activism. And Fallon did not let him down.
He cut right to the chase with updated lyrics that show Fallon declaring himself an ally for “Me Too” and “Time’s Up” movements, supporting NFL players, encouraging the media to “fend off his (Trump’s) attacks” and fight back, and taking a somewhat random jab at Mel Gibson, who was persecuted for anti-Semitic comments.
The star of the song, however, was the unnamed, unsung President of the United States – “For weak is the man who calls truth ‘fake news’” – who was warned of a revolution:
“Come leaders who bully like Internet trolls
We’ll curse you with four-letter words ‘love’ and ‘hope’
For we will go high even when you go low
The order is re-arranging
For you have the power, but we have the vote
The times they are a-changin’”
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