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

"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).

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Sources and related coverage

• Late Night with Seth Meyers, "A Closer Look," NBC, July 14, 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgjZauqynhk

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Related on Maceopedia

• "I would be an idiot not to": how Mace's answer on Graham's seat changed across one Sunday
• "It may have ended my political career": Nancy Mace to Chris Cuomo
• Trump allies say they can "block" Mace from the Graham seat