Trump, Biden, Obama and Bush’s Viral Reunion | Willie Geist, Pete Lee | Thursday, January 9

Summary

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Episode: Trump, Biden, Obama and Bush’s Viral Reunion | Featuring Willie Geist and Pete Lee Release Date: January 10, 2025

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Opening Monologue and News Highlights

[00:05] Jimmy Fallon kicked off the episode with his signature humor, delivering a mix of current events and light-hearted jokes. He highlighted a significant Supreme Court case poised to decide whether the federal government can ban TikTok, humorously predicting it would mark the first time a Justice would utter the phrase "skibidi toilet." Fallon quipped, "It's expected to be the first time a Supreme Court justice says the word skibidi toilet." (00:45).

Transitioning to national news, Fallon discussed the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, noting the unprecedented attendance of all five living U.S. Presidents: Biden, Obama, Bush, and Clinton in the front row, with Trump humorously situated in the back holding an iPad and a bag of Cheerios. He remarked, "Biden, Obama, Bush and Clinton were in the front row while Trump sat in the back with an iPad and a bag of Cheerios." (02:15).

Fallon shared viral moments from the funeral, including the unexpected camaraderie between Obama and Trump, showcasing a rare instance of bipartisan respect. He humorously narrated, "In these divided times, even Obama and Trump put aside their differences and had a friendly interaction." (02:50). Additionally, he touched on lighter moments, such as the sight of an Uber Eats delivery for Trump's McDonald's order, eliciting laughter from the audience (03:30).

In business news, Fallon mentioned J.C. Penney's merger with Forever 21 and teased the creation of a "Baby Gap" within nine months (04:10). He seamlessly transitioned into a brief promotional segment for Tonight Show sponsors, including IHOP, Uber Eats, and Hampton Inn, using his trademark comedic flair (04:42).

Tech Innovations and Quirky News

Discussing technological advancements from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Fallon highlighted PlayStation’s debut of a technology that allows gamers to smell in-game environments. He contrasted this with Nintendo’s decision to forgo the feature, humorously critiquing the scent of their characters, saying, "Nintendo tried the same thing, but they didn't think people wanted to smell two plumbers who work in the sewer." (04:43).

Fallon also touched on other tech innovations, such as a company unveiling an advanced robot bartender. He joked, "Or you could do what I do and just leave trailer crumbs and make your Roomba bring you a beer." (05:00). Additionally, he shared an amusing tidbit about a book being returned to the New York Public Library after 72 years, with the librarian’s exclamation, "Holy sh. We have a great show." (05:21).

Guest Segment: Willie Geist

Fallon welcomed Willie Geist, an Emmy-nominated news anchor and host of Sunday Today with Willie Geist, to discuss recent events and his experiences.

[08:32] Jimmy Fallon opened the conversation by expressing concern over the devastating fires in Los Angeles, prompting Willie to elaborate on the sheer scale and human impact of the disaster. Willie reflected on the chaotic nature of the fires, stating, "It feels like something out of one of those apocalypse movies. Every one of those pictures is a human story." (09:15). He praised the firefighters’ efforts, acknowledging the unprecedented challenges they faced, "The head of the Cal Fire... said, we've never seen anything like this. We're doing everything we can, but it's just not enough." (09:46).

Fallon then shifted the discussion to Jimmy Carter’s funeral, where Willie expressed admiration for the dignified and respectful atmosphere, highlighting the rare display of unity among former presidents. He remarked, "This is a rare moment today in that church... where there was reverence and respect." (10:11). Willie commended Carter’s legacy, emphasizing his contributions post-presidency, "He had a great post-presidency, his work with Habitat for Humanity and human rights. A man who was well remembered today." (11:30).

During the conversation, Willie shared his recent holiday activities, including a visit to Universal Theme Park, and joked about launching his own ride alongside Jimmy’s. The camaraderie between Fallon and Willie was palpable, with playful exchanges about their respective rides and humorous anecdotes about aging and roller coasters (12:02 to 14:10).

Notable Quote:

"Jimmy, how are you, man? Good to see you." (08:34) – Willie Geist

Guest Segment: Pete Lee

The show welcomed comedian Pete Lee, who bravely shared his personal tragedy of losing his home to a fire just the night before appearing on the show.

[21:40] Pete Lee began by addressing the audience with both humor and vulnerability, stating, "I'm a comedian, but my house burned down yesterday. That was the most studio audience response I've ever heard." (21:52). He candidly discussed his emotional journey, explaining how performing helped him cope with the loss. Pete revealed his spontaneous appearance on The Tonight Show after manifesting his wish to be a guest, sharing the serendipitous call from Jimmy Fallon, "You just have a standing ovation... and then I got a call that I have a Tonight show showcase." (27:18).

Pete recounted his experience performing on Curb Your Enthusiasm, working alongside Larry David without prior rehearsal, and praised Larry’s supportive nature. He humorously described interacting with Fallon, saying, "I love your impulse control." (16:47).

Despite the personal hardship, Pete maintained his comedic spirit, delivering jokes about his situation, such as, "I lost my home. My house looked like the logo for a guy. Fieri Restaurant. That's my house. Flavortown." (24:35). He emphasized the therapeutic role of comedy in his healing process, stating, "This feels therapeutic. It also gave me something to focus on." (22:19).

Notable Quote:

"Last night, there was a girl that, you know, she was flirting with me, and I'm single. And she was like, my place or yours? And I was like, yours." (26:50) – Pete Lee

Pete concluded his segment by sharing humorous takes on everyday experiences, including absurd encounters with Uber drivers, demonstrating his resilience and ability to find humor amidst tragedy (31:34 to 37:23).

Closing Remarks and Highlights

As the episode drew to a close, Fallon expressed heartfelt appreciation for his guests. He highlighted Willie Geist’s upcoming Ready to Connect tour at the Washington D.C. Improv and commended Pete Lee’s courageous performance, encouraging the audience to support his tour (31:34).

[37:15] Jimmy Fallon wrapped up the show by thanking Willie and Pete for their contributions, celebrating their strength and humor. He also gave a nod to the show's musical guests, The Roots, before signing off with his usual farewell, "Thank you very much. Sounds like, CPD is ready to connect to her. We'll be right back, everybody." (39:08).

Final Notable Quote:

"You make our show, comedians, make our show. Thank you so much. You're one of my favorites." (30:26) – Jimmy Fallon to Pete Lee

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Conclusion

This episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon masterfully blended current events, heartfelt moments, and humor. From discussing the unity among former presidents at Jimmy Carter's funeral to sharing personal stories of resilience from guests Willie Geist and Pete Lee, Fallon created an engaging and emotionally resonant experience for the audience. Notable quotes and interactions underscored the themes of respect, perseverance, and the healing power of laughter, making it a memorable installment for both regular listeners and newcomers alike.

Transcript

[Jimmy Fallon]

From video 6P in Rockin on our center in the heart of New York City, it's the tonight's movie starring Jimmy Fallon. When I join Jimmy and his guest willing guy beat Lee and Patrick the legendary Ruth Cru 2076 and now here he is. Give me my. Appreciate that. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Enjoy yourself. Thank you. And welcome, welcome, welcome to the Tonight Show. This is it. Well, guys, some big news from Washington. Tomorrow. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether the federal government can ban TikTok. It's expected to be the first time a Supreme Court justice says the word skibidi toilet. That's should be an interesting case. The justices will start scrolling through evidence. Then two hours later look up like, what was he doing? Again, some more news from Washington. Today was former president Jimmy Carter's funeral and all five living US Presidents were in attendance. Yep. Biden, Obama, Bush and Clinton were in the front row while Trump sat in the back with an iPad and a bag of Cheerios. Bluey, Bluey. A lot of people were surprised that Melania showed up because they thought Trump's plus one would be Elon Musk. And this is going viral. People are talking about the greeting George W. Bush gave Barack Obama. Check this out.

[Willie Geist]

Live coverage of the state funeral of.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Former president Jimmy Carter. There you go. What's up? It's funny greeting someone at a state funeral like, he's your bro who just finished a keg stand at a frat house. Your turn, bro. Bush actually did the same thing at the Vatican while meeting the Pope. He's like, hands up. Oh, I gotcha. People are also talking about one of the lighter moments at the funeral where everyone was seen laughing together. Here's a photo of that. Yeah, yeah, this was. This is when the Uber eats guy walked in with Trump's McDonald's order. And then the audience, well, this was great. In these divided times, even Obama and Trump put aside their differences and had a friendly interaction. Watch this. I wonder what those two guys could both find funny. Oh, yeah, yeah. Biden felt funny. Biden, he fell asleep. It was a long service, and at one point, it seemed like even Trump had a tough time staying awake. Take a look. It's real. That's actually the first time he slept next to Melania in years. Two acres. Some former vice presidents were also in attendance. Here's Al Gore sitting next to Mike Pence. Both guys were thinking, oh, good, I'm not the most boring person here. Switching gears to some business news. I read that J.C. penney is is merging with Forever 21. And in nine months, they're gonna have a Baby Gap. Actually, while we're on the subject, I'd like to mention. Thank you, James. I'd like to mention a few other companies who support the show. It's time for Tonight show sponsors. Here we go. Tonight show sponsored. Tonight show sponsor, ihop. Why, yes, we do clean our tables with syrup. Uber Eats. If you wanted it right, you should have gotten it yourself. And finally, Hampton Inn for when you're too classy for Motel 6. But not by much. That's all. Thank you. Thank you. I have to get those in before the commercial break. We clean the tables with syrup.

[Willie Geist]

Yes, we do.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Well, guys, listen to this. At the Consumer Electronics show In Las Vegas, PlayStation debuted a new technology that lets you smell its games. Nintendo tried the same thing, but they didn't think people wanted to smell two plumbers who work in the sewer. So meanwhile, another company showed up. Their advanced robot bartender. Ooh, yeah. Or you could do what I do and just leave a trailer crumbs and make your Roomba bring you a beer. Finally, I heard that an overdue book was just returned to the New York public library after 72 years. The librarian was like, holy sh. We have a great show.

[Pete Lee]

Give it up for the.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Welcome to the show, everybody. Well, we wanted to let everyone know in LA that we're, we're thinking about everybody out there. It's just devastating, crazy. But anyways, everyone, you're in our thoughts and if you'd like to help out, you can go to redcross.org and if not, if you know someone in LA, give them a call and check in, make sure they're all right. Give them a text. Guys, we have a, we have a great show for you here tonight. He is an Emmy nominated news anchor who hosts Sunday Today with Willie Geist, which airs Sunday mornings right here on NBC. Willie Geist is here tonight and he is a hilarious comedian. You can see him on his Ready to Connect tour at the Washington D.C. improv, February 6th through the 8th. Pete Lee is joining us. We're talking to him and he's performing Stand up later in the show. Last night, last night I went to see this play, all in on Broadway. Yeah. And this is, this is over at the Hudson Theater. And last night was, it was John Mulaney, it was Fred Armisen, it was Chloe Feynman, and it was Richard Kind and, and, and they all were great. And they're all reading stories from Simon Rich, who's a great writer, super Funny. And I, I watched the show. I went, I went with Seth Meyers and I spilled his drink. Nothing you can do once the show starts. Yeah.

[Pete Lee]

What are you gonna do?

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. Can't get up. Hey. Sorry, man.

[Pete Lee]

It's just gone.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. Yeah. But it was, it was great. And they're all brilliant. Everybody I just mentioned were so great on stage. And I was watching it, I went, obviously, I'm a fan of everything, but I'm actually gonna be in this play. So I'm joining the cast January 28th through February 2nd. My cast is going to be me, Nick Kroll, A.D. bryant and Lin Manuel Miranda.

[Willie Geist]

Oh.

[Jimmy Fallon]

So I got to start learning my lines. You got to learn your lines. I'm going to Broadway. There you go. Hey, anyway, stick around. We'll be right back with more Tonight Show. Everybody come on back. Thank you very much. Our first guest is an Emmy nominated news anchor who hosts Sunday Today with Willie Geist, which airs every Sunday at 8:00am here on NBC. Please welcome Willie Geist.

[Pete Lee]

Willie, welcome back.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You look great.

[Willie Geist]

Jimmy, how are you, man? Good to see you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Great. Nice to see you as well. Thank you for coming on the show. Obviously, some devastating news in Los Angeles. I saw you recovering this morning.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah. We were on from 6am to 10am we had the fires in Los Angeles County. We had Jimmy Carter's funeral. It was a wild morning, but, man, you wake up and you were just talking about it, you see some of these images and it is, it's sort of a cliche, but it feels like something out of one of those apocalypse movies. You can't believe what you're seeing from overhead. And every one of those pictures is a human story. I know a lot of people, I'm sure you do too, who, like you said, are going home. Place isn't there anymore. And so now what? It's like, are we moving to a different city? How do we find a new school for our kids?

[Jimmy Fallon]

All this stuff. And also, like, also, it's not on their terms, you know, it's mother Nature doing what they could. They can't even fight the fires because the winds are so strong.

[Willie Geist]

And that's the thing. I had friends I would talk to yesterday morning and say, we're fine, don't worry. Thanks for checking in. By that night, they're like, we're out of here. We gotta go. Because those winds are so fast and shifting so quickly.

[Jimmy Fallon]

These firefighters are doing such great work.

[Willie Geist]

They are, they are. And it's an impossible job.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, it's an impossible job.

[Willie Geist]

The head of the Cal Fire, the fire department, the head of the LAPD just said, we've never seen anything like this. This is unprecedented. We're doing everything we can. We're getting as much water to the places that need it as quickly as we can, but it's just not enough.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, I saw you cover. You did a great job covering that this morning. But also President Jimmy Carter's funeral.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Which I thought was lovely and a nice, respectful way to say goodbye.

[Willie Geist]

You know, we've become this political culture where there's no such thing really as dignity or bipartisanship or any of those things. Unfortunately. I hate to say it, but this is a rare moment today in that church in the National Cathedral in Washington where there was, where there was reverence and respect. And it is such a tableau. Every time a president dies. You see in the first couple of rows all these former presidents who've been at each other's throats during political campaigns, who've said awful things about each other in the past, sitting there like as you pointed out, President Obama and President Elect Trump.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

There were this reminded me, you know, when you go to church like with your brother and you're whispering and giggling in church, and who would have thought these two would be the sitting whispering and giggling in church. But it was nice to see, even if it only lasts for one morning. And you know, Jimmy Carter's story, he was a one term president. People have different thoughts about what kind of a president he was. But this is a guy who came from a tiny town in Georgia Plains, Georgia, was a peanut farmer and rose to become the most powerful man on the face of the earth for four years. It's an amazing American story. And he had a great post presidency, his work with Habitat for Humanity and human rights and so a man who was well remembered today.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, well said. What did you do for the holidays?

[Willie Geist]

Good holidays. We were home for Christmas and then after we went to Universal Theme park. Come on.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Universal Studios. Someone I know has a roller coaster there.

[Willie Geist]

You know there's a Raj, Jimmy Fallon ride there.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yes.

[Willie Geist]

Okay.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yes, we have our own ride at Universal. Thank you. Please sit down. Please sit down. They're storming the stage. They're storming. Yeah, we worked hard. That is one of the most hardest working things that we've done. Thank you.

[Willie Geist]

It's an amazing ride and it's one of the first rides when you walk in the park. It's right there. Yeah, you hit the rip ride rocket, the roller coaster and then it's right to the Fallon ride.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I don't even know if you need that first one. How many times did you ride it?

[Willie Geist]

Here's the catch. So I'm about to turn.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Willie, please don't do this to me.

[Willie Geist]

Hold on a second. I'm about to turn 50 in a few months. And apparently something happens to your equilibrium when you get old.

[Pete Lee]

What?

[Willie Geist]

And you can't, like, spin and go backwards and deal with simulators the way you used to. And so I was always the guy. With my two kids, I would ride any roller coaster upside down. Backwards. The water slides that go straight down.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

All of a sudden, I can't get on a roller coaster without getting off and just kind of, like, walking sideways and, like, falling into the churros kiosk.

[Jimmy Fallon]

On the way out.

[Pete Lee]

Really?

[Willie Geist]

And so I'm just gonna say it right here on your show. I did not do the Jimmy Fallon ride this time. I'm not proud of it. This is unbelievable.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. Wait. But you get. Mine's a simulator.

[Willie Geist]

But you weren't alone. I didn't do a lot of my skit. I did the rip ride rock.

[Jimmy Fallon]

He took your family? He said I wouldn't let my family r. But I. No one's allowed to ride the Jimmy.

[Willie Geist]

Fountain if I can't do it.

[Jimmy Fallon]

No one's doing it. No one's doing it.

[Willie Geist]

But I was the guy who I've never been. We had a huge group of 20 people going on these rides. I was the bag holder. So everyone's like, hey, can you hold my hat and my glasses and my backpack? So I'm standing outside all the rides with, like, 18 backpacks.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's Willie, guys.

[Willie Geist]

Like, hey, how you doing? You going on the rides? No, I can't do that anymore.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I'm old. You're not old.

[Willie Geist]

I got reading glasses. I wake up in the morning. I walk, like, C3PO for a little bit.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's ridiculous. These are your choices.

[Willie Geist]

But you're a big roller coaster guy. Like, you'll get on anything.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I can't do anything with the kids. What I do is I just keep doing them. Then I feel weird, and then I just take that weirdness and just ride it all the way through. And then when you're walking around.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Don't affect me anymore. I get on the roller coaster.

[Pete Lee]

It doesn't.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I. Go ahead, spin. Try me. It doesn't do anything. Either way, it's going to spin.

[Willie Geist]

I wasn't. I wasn't a total shutout. I did, like, some of the rides, but I paid for them. You know, like, felt it, like into the night at dinner, like kind of leaning sideways.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I want to talk to you about your appearance on Kirby Enthusiasm. More with Willie, guys, when we come back. Come on back, everybody. Welcome back, everybody. We're hanging out with our friend Willie Geist is here. I want to talk about Sunday today. By the way, look at. You have one of the best mugs.

[Willie Geist]

In the business mug, isn't it? Yeah. You have a great mug.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Thank you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, it's a good.

[Willie Geist]

You could bathe an infant in our mug.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I do like this mug. Yeah. I want to talk about Sunny today. But first, Curb youb Enthusiasm. I didn't get a chance. Since the last time you came on, you were fantastic. On the final season of Curb. You and Larry, what's it like? How did you end up on Curb youb Enthusiam.

[Willie Geist]

Totally surreal. So I was trying to get Larry David to come on my Sunday show. He was putting it off. Putting it off. One day my phone rings. I'm standing in my backyard. It's an LA number. Let's take a shot. Roulette. Hello, Willie, it's Larry. Larry David. Larry. Like, we're not friends. He doesn't call me a lot.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. So he's a prank.

[Willie Geist]

He called me and he goes, I heard you want to interview me. I'm not going to do it. He's calling me to say, I don't want to be on your show. And I said, we talked for a while. He said, but I have an idea. What if you came on my show? And I said on Curb? And he goes, yeah. I said, I'm not an actor. I don't know what to do. You'll be fine. And like, from that call to the moment I got on the plane, there was basically no more communication. It was like, just go ad lib with one of the great ad libbers of all time.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, he's.

[Willie Geist]

For two days. So I went out to la. It was a two day shoot.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Do you have lines?

[Willie Geist]

Well, it was like they say it's an outline, so there's no line really. There are a couple lines you have to say to move the plot along. But otherwise I was like, hey, guys, what do I do? I'm like a TV anchor. I'm a news guy. And they're like, just riff with Larry. So I'm like, what? So I riffed with Larry. But the beauty is, first of all, he was so supportive. He laughs really hard, you know, Larry. He was like, that was great. That was great. And then they Just shoot a bunch of takes, and the ones that aren't funny sit on the floor, and the rest of them go in the show. So I had no idea what they were gonna use. But he was. I can't say enough about how much fun it was, how surreal it was, and, like, how supportive he was for a person in my case, who had no clue what he was doing.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. I just love that he's actually like that in real life.

[Willie Geist]

Totally. He was great.

[Jimmy Fallon]

It's like, don't try to be anything else.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah. I mean, that was.

[Jimmy Fallon]

He's great.

[Willie Geist]

I would say that's a bucket list thing, but who puts that on their bucket list? I'm gonna be on Curb youb Enthusiasm. No, you're not.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, but you did it.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Did you watch your episodes?

[Willie Geist]

I did. I did. I actually. I was on the plane home from Universal last week where I didn't ride the roller coaster just to bring that back. And I was on the menu on Delta looking for something to watch, and I saw the episode and I almost touched it. And then I thought, don't be the guy watching yourself.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That would be such a good TikTok.

[Willie Geist]

By the way, I pulled my. Yeah, you have to do it every.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Time you go on a plane. You have to watch yourself and have someone TikTok from behind.

[Willie Geist]

I pulled my finger away.

[Jimmy Fallon]

How lame. Willie Geist is watching.

[Pete Lee]

Oh, my God.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Don't you get laughing really hard? Laughing really hard at yourself.

[Willie Geist]

Rewinding.

[Jimmy Fallon]

This guy's brilliant.

[Willie Geist]

Everyone.

[Jimmy Fallon]

She wants it. I had a best time. I've done Sunday Today a couple times.

[Willie Geist]

Yes, you have. Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

And you were nice enough to have me on when we were celebrating our 10th anniversary of tonight show here. And thank you for doing that. You actually came. We have some photos here. Here's you.

[Willie Geist]

Okay, this still. Even looking at that makes me uncomfortable. So this seat, the seat where you're sitting right now is. This is the Tonight show desk. The Tonight show chair. I have no business in that seat. And Jimmy was like, when we talk in the interview, why don't we switch seats? And I fought you on it because to me, it's like sitting in the Oval Office behind the Resolute desk. You earn that chair. You're the President of the United States or you're the host of the Tonight Show.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, but I've known you for a while.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, we switched for a couple years.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I don't remember this photo. What is happening here?

[Willie Geist]

And I was trying to.

[Jimmy Fallon]

What are we doing?

[Willie Geist]

I wish I knew. I wish I knew. The best guess is, I think you were telling me how the studio, as you all can tell, is a little smaller than it looks on tv. And you were saying, look how close I am to the band. I think it's about six feet. And we didn't have a tape measure, so we just took a person who was six feet tall.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. You're six. Yeah. So two.

[Willie Geist]

Six feet. That's how far we are. So I think 12 is at 12ft. Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, 12ft.

[Willie Geist]

Measuring stuff.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You're about to celebrate your ninth anniversary, by the way, on Sunday today.

[Willie Geist]

It's a weird anniversary, right?

[Jimmy Fallon]

It's fantastic. Nine years.

[Willie Geist]

Nine years. You know, congratulations. Our mutual friend Andy Cohen mocks me for celebrating off anniversaries. He's like, what is this, your fourth anniversary? That's not. Wait for 10. Nine is not a thing.

[Jimmy Fallon]

But it's amazing.

[Willie Geist]

We're. You're so behind you, and it's been amazing. You know, we've got people like you who are willing to sit down with me for an hour or so and have great open conversations and great.

[Jimmy Fallon]

We're doing something really fun. A live one.

[Willie Geist]

Yes.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Are you gonna do more of these?

[Willie Geist]

So this is brand new. So we have. Coming up next week on January 22nd, we're doing our Sunday sit down, which we do on the show every Sunday. We're doing it live in front of an audience like this. So we're taking it to a theater here in New York at City Winery with your buddy Nate Bargetzi.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Oh, my God. Nate Pargets is unbelievable. Nate Pargetsy is one of my favorites.

[Willie Geist]

Who was so generous to, like, take a flyer on this first try. And so he agreed to do it. And I said, we're thinking about who would do it. I said, well, let's get somebody who knows how to work an audience who's funny and can do all that. And Nate's the guy. And so I thought, I don't know how this is going to go. So he and I appeared on the Today show to promote it, and it sold out in eight minutes. And so I would like to think that was me, but it also might be the guy who sells out Madison Square Garden doing comedy.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Everyone's there to see Willie guy. So come on.

[Willie Geist]

So me and Nate next week, and we hope, based on how the tickets have sold, we'll do more of those and maybe. Maybe this guy will come in and do it one time.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I'll do whatever. I'm the big fan. I knew I loved you. One of the best. Willie Geist Catch. Sunday Today with Willie geiss, Sundays at 8am on NBC. More tonight's show after the break. Everybody look at comedian. He's a friend of the show. He's like family to us. So you can catch him on his Ready to Connect tour at the Washington D.C. improv, February 6th through the 8th. Please welcome Pete Lee. Pete Lee, welcome back. First of all, it means a lot that you're here tonight. I really appreciate you coming here, you know.

[Pete Lee]

Thank you. Yeah, I. My. I don't mean to be a bummer. This is a comedy show, I'm a comedian, but my house burned down yesterday. That was the most studio audience response I've ever heard.

[Jimmy Fallon]

No, that's exactly what they.

[Pete Lee]

Yeah, that was like a game show where it went to zero to bankrupt.

[Jimmy Fallon]

But that's.

[Pete Lee]

It's really sad. I didn't know. The producers asked me and they're like, are you sure you even want to do the show? And I was like, yeah, I want to do this. This feels therapeutic. It also gave me something to focus on. And you're a great friend, Jimmy. You're a great. I love you. I hope it's. I. You know, it's maybe too soon to say, but I love you and you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Definitely say it to me. But I always said, Pete, like, if you. If you want to go back or check in on anything. And you said, no. And I appreciate this because I think it shows everyone how strong everyone is right now during these times. And what. LA is gonna come back and they're gonna come back stronger.

[Pete Lee]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

But I mean, it's just. I hope I don't want to upset you any more than you are upset, but I mean.

[Pete Lee]

No. Well, I said to you when we talked in the hallway, I go, I'm gonna come on. And he goes, that's gonna be brave. And I go, jimmy, I might cry. It's totally possible that I might cry, but that's also okay. And it was really hard. And if you want to show what the house looked like, I can show you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, this is pretty.

[Pete Lee]

And by the way, there's a take that comedians have been doing that's like, hey, don't feel sorry for these people in the Palisades. They're all rich. I'm not rich. Okay. I'm just not. And this is what my house looked like. It's a modest house that was on the ocean. Brag. And.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Pete Lee]

And then this is what it looks like now. Yeah. And I just. I made a post. Have you guys ever made a post on instagram and then you're not crying until you write the post. And you're like, I was crying so hard that it sounded like pulling a straw in and out of a fast food couplet. I was like, I lost my home. And so that's how hard I was. I was crying.

[Jimmy Fallon]

But how do you process all this and do this? And thank you for being this strong.

[Pete Lee]

Yeah, well, I mean, I'm already. I've been joking about this, and there are a lot of very serious people in the world, and we live in 2025. And so there are going to be people with already the jokes that I've said making light of this, that are going to be mad at me because they're going to go, hey, you're making fun of a tragedy too soon. My house burned down. I can tell jokes about this. But so my coping yesterday, I was crying, and I just kept writing down jokes. And I was crying and writing down jokes.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I was writing down jokes.

[Pete Lee]

I was writing. Because once you're thinking about it, like, Jimmy, I'm very funny. And.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I know that. I know that. That's exactly right.

[Pete Lee]

But this is what you do. This is what I do. So last night at the Comedy Cellar, I actually took notes on stage. And I hope people don't think this is tasteless, but can I tell all the jokes that I wrote? Yeah. Okay. I learned something, Jimmy, that when your house burns down dry, January is over. Dude, I got so drunk, I was drinking like, prohibition is gonna start up again tomorrow. This is absolutely true. So yesterday, I was watching the CBS News. We're on NBC. Oh, my God, I hate cbs. No, no.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You okay?

[Pete Lee]

You're good.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You can say it. You can say it.

[Pete Lee]

But I was watching CBS News, and the anchor was in front of my house, and he's like, some people are finding out right now that their home is burning by watching this broadcast. And I'm watching it with a friend, and I'm like, yeah, that's me. That's my house. And my friend goes, which one is your house? And I go, the orange one. Like, it used to be white, but now it's blaze orange. Like, dude, my house looked like the logo for a guy. Fieri Restauran. That's my house. Flavortowne. I told you I'm funny.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I appreciate you doing this.

[Pete Lee]

So one of the things. This is insult to injury, but so I was in a relationship, and I lived in this neighborhood for four years, and I met some of my best friends in this neighborhood. This is a sincere part. And then I Met a lady, and I moved to Arizona for her. And it turned out to not work out. I wasn't the lid for her pot or vice versa. So then my friends were like, oh, you're going through this breakup. Why don't you move back into our house at the ocean? So I lived there for one month. It burned out. I know, it's terrible, right? But so I'm a single guy right now. And last night, there was a girl that, you know, she was flirting with me, and I'm single. And she was like, my place or yours? And I was like, yours. Like.

[Jimmy Fallon]

It'S not an option. Yeah.

[Pete Lee]

I was like, I do not have a place. You're not just a hookup. You're part of my plan.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Oh, my gosh. Do you remember. Do you remember the first time we met? Because it's been a week. We've been friends for a while.

[Pete Lee]

We've been friends for a while. So I actually manifested meeting Jimmy, which restraining order I was. So a friend of mine told me to read the book the Secret, and I'm dyslexic, or I have astigmatism, whatever it is. And so I watched the Secret on YouTube, and there's this part where it goes, now's the time that you should pause this program and wish for something unreasonable. And so I was like, all right, well, you discovered Nate Bargetzi. You walked into the stand late at night and you saw him doing standup. And that's the lore. And I was like, okay, so if that could happen to Nate Bargetzi. And then Jimmy saw him and loved him, maybe it could happen with me. And so I was like, I wish for that. And I wish that I go on the Tonight show, and I wish that it goes really well. And then I wish that I get a standing ovation. Cause that seemed unreasonable, right? And then it was four days later, I get a call that I have a Tonight show showcase. Your booker, Michael. I love you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

It's like an audition for the show.

[Pete Lee]

An audition. And then, by the way, so Jimmy came to the showcase, and I was in the bar, and I was drinking whiskey. Because that's one of my. It's my work medicine and all of a sud. Jimmy comes up to me and he goes, hey. He's like, hey, Dave told me that you're going to be on the show. Blah, blah, blah. And. And by the way, I'm sorry. That's an impression.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's not. Why are you laughing?

[Pete Lee]

He's like, it's not a good impression. There all you have to do to do a Jimmy impression is be slightly out of breath. Hey, I'm in a hurry. Hey, everybody. I got to get across the crosswalk.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's kind of the way I do it. Yeah.

[Pete Lee]

I'm so, so. You mean so much to me.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Sorry I cut you off.

[Pete Lee]

Anyway, so you walk up to him. You were really nice, and you're the warmest person. Everybody always goes, is Jimmy the same person in real life? And I'm like, yeah, it's insane. And he's like, hi, Jimmy. Nice to meet you. And I go, I just looked at you, and the first thing I said to you, I go, the secret is real. And he goes, well, I don't know what to do with that, but I'll see you in the show. And.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, sounds like me.

[Pete Lee]

Yeah. And so in New York City, whenever there's a celebrity in the room, everybody's.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Too cool for school.

[Pete Lee]

They don't want to acknowledge that one of their favorite celebrities because you're beloved, and so you're in the room, and everybody's a little bit weird. So the first two people on the show bombed their faces off. And then Roy Wood Jr. Was running his set for that night, and you came to check it out, and he basically warmed the crowd up. He teed it up for me. And then I'm doing my set, and the crowd's still a little weird. They're like, jimmy's here. We live in. And then I told a joke. I go. I go, I never want to offend anybody. Like, the other day, this guy sneezed. And I want to say, bless you, but instead I go, happy holidays. And Jimmy stands up, and he goes, yes. He goes, I love this guy. And I was like, I love you too, Jimmy. Or I don't know what to call it, sir. And I wanted to tell you because I'm a huge fan of the Tonight show over history. Like, I've read books on it. I've been to museums, and I want to say, I love your Tonight show, but instead I go, I love your impulse control. And you go, thanks, I don't have any. And then you walked up to me right after I got off stage, and you invited me on the show, and it changed my life. My agent at the time fired me a week before that showcase. And then because of you, I got with CA and it changed my whole career. And now I'm touring and I'm selling out venues, and you changed my life, Jimmy. Thank you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I love you, bud. I love you, bud. Thank you. You make our show, comedians, make our show. Thank you so much. You're one of my favorites. Thank you for being here. Pete Lee. Everybody. Check out his Ready to Connect tour. Pete is doing Stand up when we come back. Stick around everybody. That was phenomenal. He can be seen on his Ready to Connect at the Washington D.C. improv February 6th through the 8th. One of our favorites, please welcome the very funny Pete Lee.

[Pete Lee]

Hey, so my name is Pete. You might recognize me from TV from before. I don't like my name. Peter.

[Willie Geist]

Peter?

[Pete Lee]

Yeah. That's not like a tough man's name. It's not like, hey, whose Harley is that?

[Willie Geist]

It's Peter's.

[Pete Lee]

I asked my dad, I go, why did you name me Peter? He goes, cause I thought it was the strongest sounding name in the Bible. I was like, uh, no, you couldn't name me Satan. Pretty sure nobody would call me Satan. Satan pumpkin eater, right? My dad's like, no, I'm offended by that because in Latin the word Peter means rock. So your name means rock. And I'm like, I'm pretty sure that's not true. Cause otherwise he would have called himself Dwayne the Peter Johnson. Can you smell what the Peter is cooking? All right, that one got weird. Yeah, I feel like we're really bonded. What do you guys wanna do after this? Do you guys all, as an audience, wanna go to the same bar all at once?

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, I think it'll be fun.

[Pete Lee]

I'm done. Yeah. And then we can play a game where I'll point to anyone, I'll fight em. So you know what's funny is I'm actually like a trained vicious fighter. I am. I got my black belt in taekwondo when I was. Yeah, we were taekwondo or black belts or. Alright, okay, Now I'm doing crowd work anyway, I just want to connect. No, I got my black belt in taekwondo when I was 12 years old and then I quit. So you know what that means? That means I could destroy anyone in here with my bare hands. As long as you're 12 years old or under. I've only fought children. Every once in a while I get nostalgic. I'll be in like a Dairy Queen in the Midwest. I'll see a little kid with karate uniform and I'm like, God, I want to kick his ass.

[Jimmy Fallon]

All right.

[Pete Lee]

I'm staring him down. Like, I'll hit you so hard your shoes will light up. Yeah, it's hard for me to be scary because I, I am filled with joy, you know, look at my face. This is me when I'M angry, which is actually terrifying. I'm gonna get you murder. I've been working on my assertiveness. Unless you guys don't like that, and I'll stop. I like whatever you guys like. Thank you. Do you guys ever feel like you get bullied by your Lyft or Uber drivers before they even pick you up, right? Because on the map, we're the blue dot, they're the car, right? And they'll be parked two blocks away, and they'll be like, I am here. And I'm like, you're two blocks away? And they're like, well, can you walk to me? I'm like, do you not understand the service you provide, Dude, Now I gotta get a Lyft to catch my Uber. And I don't like the map, right? Because as soon as the car comes up on the map, right, your friends are like, where is it? When's it coming? Right? And I'm like, I don't know. I'm just looking at the car and it's spinning on the map. I'm like, dude, I don't know what this guy's doing. He's doing donuts on 49th Street. Now. He just went backwards two avenues really fast. Then he just gently slid sideways across four neighborhoods. I'm like, we're drunk. This guy's wasted. And a lot of the drivers are really good. They're professional drivers. I want to give them credit. But some of them, it's really scary when you're in the car with them, right? I was going out. I was in a Lyft or an Uber, whichever one you guys like better. That's what I was in. I'm on your side. And this guy was going, like 87 miles an hour down this tiny New York City side street. And I'm back there. I'm like, sir, my seatbelt doesn't work. You're going fast. I feel scared. I need to slow down a little bit. I'm from Wisconsin, and I've been working on my assertiveness. And this is like a 10 for me. But he couldn't hear me. Cause he's having the chillest cell phone conversation in whatever beautiful global language sounds like. And I'm back there like, sir, when you're done making nature noises, could you dial it back? A scorch. I knew scotch would get you. I felt so scared, and he wouldn't listen to me. So I saw the telephone number that he was talking to on his Bluetooth dashboard console, and I called it. I called his friend the guy was like, who is this? I was like, peter? He was like, what? I'm like, I'm in the car with your friend right now, and I just need him to slow down a little bit. He's like, why are you calling me? I was like, I just feel like he trusts you. He's like, I do not understand. And I was like.

[Jimmy Fallon]

All right.

[Pete Lee]

Thank you, guys. I'm Pete Lee. Thank you. Good.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's. I didn't. Love you, buddy.

[Willie Geist]

I love you.

[Pete Lee]

Thank you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's Pete Lee. CPD is ready to connect to her. We'll be right back, everybody. My thanks to Willie Geist. Pete Lee, once again, well done. And the Roots right there from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Good night, everybody. Thank St. Jimmy Fallon.

[Willie Geist]

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