James Corden Thinks Trump Wasn’t Asked ‘Right Questions’ During Election
Imagine Donald Trump and James Corden battling it out in one of “The Late Late Show’s” signature rap battle segments, “Drop the Mic” … it might be a thing of beauty.
On the two-year anniversary of shooting his first ever “Late Late Show” episode, Corden took to the Paleyfest stage at the Dolby Theatre and told the audience exactly what he would have done had the President appeared on his show during the campaign.
“The thing is, he went round a lot of talk shows. And there was a thing that happened with Jimmy Fallon where he got quite a lot of criticism … but I felt like it was really unfair, because I don’t think that anyone asked him the right questions,” Corden explained. “I don’t think anybody took him to task or asked him the questions that needed to be asked, and answer for the things that he had done.”
Corden feels that had the president appeared on his show, he would have had the perfect game to play with him to retain the entertaining aspect of the show, while also questioning some of the then-Republican nominee’s statements and policies.
“I wanted to play a game called ‘Stand By It or Take It Back,’ where I would read him things that he said, and he would have two paddles, and he could either stand by it or take it back,” Corden mused. “If you take it back you take it back forever, but if you stand by it you have to explain why, and I felt like this was such a good game for him.”
However, President Trump has yet to appear on “The Late Late Show” … and so the conversation turned to wildly varying topics such as Anthony Kiedis saving a baby’s life during filming one day, shooting Cuba Gooding Jr.’s scene for the Tom Cruise “Roll Call” segment nine whole months before they had even booked Cruise and how, from the beginning, the creative minds behind the “Late Late Show” wanted it to have a bold internet presence.
“The other day someone called our office and said, ‘you guys must be bouncing around the office,’ and we asked why, and they said, ‘you’re up 67% in the ratings,’ and we didn’t even know,” Corden recounted to laughter from the audience who were clinging to his every word. “We know that we can’t change that needle, but the greatest thing about the internet is that it is a completely level playing field: It’s without lead-ins; it’s without sports games; it’s without big ten o’clock drama. The stuff that’s good and the stuff that’s relevant will rise to the top.”
As the mixture of audience Q&As and highlight clips from some of the show’s most popular segments came to an end, the event descended into near-chaos, as Corden invited a group of fans onto stage to perform a live “Carpool Karaoke” singalong with him, only for the host to be mobbed by his devotees.
After a solid two hours of raconteur fun — which also featured two of the show’s EP’s, Ben Winston and Rob Crabbe, and was moderated by Bradley Whitford — Corden ended proceedings on his hands and knees, signing autographs.
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