--- title: Donald Trump: Jimmy Fallon Interview First Since Run 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. canonical: https://time.com/4032423/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon/ author: Alex Altman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-12T11:55:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:31:58.032Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Trades Jokes With Jimmy Fallon og:description: Supreme Court Justice Gary Busey? og:url: https://time.com/4032423/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt56d8113a1b40a46d/69886351428a9e0d98ccf14a/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Donald Trump during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on September 11, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Trades Jokes With Jimmy Fallon twitter:description: Supreme Court Justice Gary Busey? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt56d8113a1b40a46d/69886351428a9e0d98ccf14a/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Trades Jokes With Jimmy Fallon > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=28b0b8bf-465e-4d06-abc2-b5112f65441b&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump [Watch (HLS stream): Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7MzTpVq2.m3u8) (1:21)  _Published 2015-07-23. Donald Trump's Most Ridiculous Quotes_  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Sep 12, 2015 11:55 AM UTC  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Sep 12, 2015 11:55 AM UTC 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.” ## Transcript Rosie O'Donnell's disgusting, I mean both inside and out. You take a look at her, she's a slob. She talks like a truck driver. So he could have been born in Kenya and gone over to the United States. And everybody wants to be a US citizen. And his grandparents put an ad in saying he was born in the United States. He didn't kill Bin Laden. He gets so much credit for that. Ok excuse me. He had the guts to make that decision. And the genius. Excuse me. Guts. First of all Vince, your grapefruits are no match for my Trump Towers. They're bringing drugs They're bringing crime, they're rapist, and some I assume are good people, and I love the Mexican people. I've had thousands of Mexicans working for me. I sell apartments for millions of dollars to people from Mexico. They love me, they love me. [ CROSSTALK ]. He's a war hero cuz he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, okay? I hate to tell you this. And I see your Senator. What a stiff? What a Stiff? Lindsay Graham. I'm not using the lobbyists, I'm not using donors. I don't care. I'm really rich. 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