--- description: Donald Trump traded jokes with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon in his first visit to a late-night talk show since he started his run. title: Donald Trump Trades Jokes With Jimmy Fallon image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt56d8113a1b40a46d/69886351428a9e0d98ccf14a/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Donald Trump Trades Jokes With Jimmy Fallon  by [Alex Altman](/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Sep 12, 2015 11:55 AM CUT  Donald Trump during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on September 11, 2015. Donald Trump during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on September 11, 2015.NBC—2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC  by [Alex Altman](/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Sep 12, 2015 11:55 AM CUT Republican frontrunner Donald Trump proved that he can take a joke on Friday, swapping quips with _Tonight Show_ host Jimmy Fallon in his first visit to a late-night comedy set since the start of his presidential campaign. In the show’s opening skit, Fallon flashed his best impersonation of the brash developer, mocking everything from Trump’s hair and mannerisms to his duck-faced scowl. The famously thin-skinned Trump was a good sport, mugging his way through a set piece that depicted Fallon-as-Trump interviewing the Donald through a vanity mirror. Asked about potential Cabinet appointments if he becomes President, Trump shrugged off Fallon’s suggestion that he tap actor Gary Busey to fill out the Republican ticket. “I love Gary, he’s fantastic—but more of a Supreme Court justice, in my opinion,” Trump joked. “Vice President’s a very serious position. I’d say maybe Kanye West.” In a subsequent sit-down interview, Trump cycled through a more conventional—and less blustery than usual—recitation of campaign issues, covering everything from his proposal to build a wall at the southern border (“we may build it with immigrant labor”) to Hillary Clinton’s email troubles to his tips for delivering a great speech (“off the cuff”). Though Trump has lately exchanged jabs with several of his Republican rivals, he said he had no plans to target any opponents in particular during the upcoming second GOP primary debate. “To me, they’re all the same,” he said. Noting Trump’s swift ascent in the polls, Fallon winked at the improbable spectacle of the reality TV star’s domination of the GOP nominating contest for the past several months. “When did it become real?” Fallon asked of Trump’s candidacy. “Was it always real?” Trump laughed. “Nobody believed I was doing it,” he said. As he often does on the campaign trail, Trump cited voters’ desire to restore international respect for America as the key to his appeal. “There’s a movement going on,” he said, “that’s amazing to watch.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4032423/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4032423/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Trades Jokes With Jimmy Fallon","datePublished":"2015-09-12T11:55:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:53:32.975Z","description":"Supreme Court Justice Gary Busey?","url":"https://time.com/4032423/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon/","keywords":["Donald Trump","2016 Election topic","jimmy fallon"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt56d8113a1b40a46d/69886351428a9e0d98ccf14a/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Altman","jobTitle":"Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/alex-altman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt56d8113a1b40a46d/69886351428a9e0d98ccf14a/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on September 11, 2015.","caption":"Donald Trump during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on September 11, 2015.","creditText":"NBC—2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4032423/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon/","name":"Donald Trump Trades Jokes With Jimmy Fallon"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump","description":"Donald Trump's Most Ridiculous Quotes","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7MzTpVq2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-23T21:38:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7MzTpVq2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4032423/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon/","duration":"PT1M21S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4032423/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```