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Part of: The 2026 South Carolina Senate Special Election

Late Night with Seth Meyers / NBC

Seth Meyers: 'I just think we need to ban politicians from posting memes'

Seth Meyers used his July 14, 2026 'A Closer Look' segment to skewer Rep. Nancy Mace's Godfather III meme, posted the day after Lindsey Graham's death to hint at a Senate run, alongside Trump's Mount Rushmore, Star Wars, and Pope memes, landing on: 'I just think we need to ban politicians from posting memes.'

Seth Meyers ·

A Maceopedia cut of Seth Meyers' meme segment from 'A Closer Look,' July 14, 2026. Source: Late Night with Seth Meyers, NBC/YouTube.

"I just think we need to ban politicians from posting memes," Seth Meyers told his NBC audience on July 14, 2026, after walking through a collection of congressional and presidential meme posts that, in his telling, all shared the same problem: the politician in question did not come out looking better for having posted.

The setup was Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Senator Lindsey Graham died on July 11, 2026. The following day, Mace posted a clip on social media of Michael Corleone from The Godfather Part III, where the character says: "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." An anchor confronted her about it. "Early this morning, after learning of Senator Graham's death, just a few hours later, you posted, and correct me if I'm wrong, this is not your post, but you posted on social media a clip of Michael Corleone from Godfather III where he famously says, just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. What did you mean by that?" Mace replied: "Well, I love a little self-deprecating humor." Meyers then cut in: "You know, I just think we need to ban politicians from posting memes."

To illustrate his point, Meyers pivoted to Trump. "This is almost as bad as when Trump posted a meme of himself on Mount Rushmore that looked like the other presidents were trying not to make eye contact with him." He offered a caption for Washington's expression in the meme: "Looks like Washington is saying, that's the guy I was telling you about." The segment also covered Trump's Star Wars and Pope memes as further evidence for the proposed ban.

Mace has said publicly she is considering running for Graham's Senate seat, which she would need to leave her House seat to pursue. She ran for governor of South Carolina in a 2026 Republican primary, a race she did not win. The Godfather meme, posted within hours of Graham's death, drew immediate media attention. She denied it was a statement of intent, attributing it to self-deprecating humor.

Watch the full segment at Late Night with Seth Meyers on YouTube (link in Sources below).

Sources and related coverage

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  • July 13, 2026 · Dispatch

    So Apparently Nancy Mace's Fifth Stage of Grief Is Running for Senate

    Jezebel writes that Nancy Mace began floating herself for Lindsey Graham's Senate seat within hours of his death, posting the Godfather Part III 'they pull me back in' line around 9:43 a.m. Sunday and telling Fox News she would 'never going to shut the door.' A source confirmed to Jezebel that Mace is considering the run and plans to poll an exploratory bid this week, potentially using leftover federal campaign cash, one month after her fifth-place governor-primary finish and twelve years after her first run at Graham's seat also ended in fifth place.

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    Trump Team Reportedly Irate Over Nancy Mace Floating Her Name as a Graham Replacement: 'All We Want is a Republican Who is Sane'

    Mediaite reports that the Trump White House fumed as Nancy Mace touted herself as a candidate for Lindsey Graham's Senate seat hours after his death, posting the Godfather Part III 'they pull me back in' line the morning the news broke. One Trump official told Axios her move was 'in poor taste, even for Mace'; another said they would 'drop $2 million on her head' in a runoff. Trump instead recommended Graham's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, as interim senator, with Sen. Tim Scott backing the pick.