Jimmy Fallon Hits Back at Trump After President Tells Him to 'Be a Man'

The "Tonight Show" host, who normally steers clear of politics, tweeted back at Trump on Sunday night after being insulted on the public platform.

The president told Fallon to stop "whimpering" and "be a man" after the late night comedian complained about the backlash he received for tousling Trump's hair back in 2016. Fallon had been widely criticized at the time for dodging any confrontation with then Republican presidential nominee Trump, opting instead to playfully entertain the future head of state.

The SNL veteran tweeted in response to Trump's criticism and claimed he would be donating in the president's name to RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) - a direct nod to Trump's controversial border policy which has been ripping migrant children away from their parents.

Fallon revisited the 2016 interview with Trump on Tuesday of last week, when he got emotional on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast. At the time, in September 2016, Trump had just been named the Republican presidential nominee. The interview went viral when Fallon was given permission to "mess up" Trump's hair.

"I did not do it to 'normalize' him or to say I believe in his political beliefs or any of that stuff," Fallon said Tuesday as he recalled the incident.

Fallon said the subsequent backlash "got bigger and out of control."

"I saw other comedians from other shows making fun of me on Twitter and I go, 'OK, now I'm just gonna get off,'" he said. "They know the show. I'm just doing five hours a week. I get in at 10 in the morning, I work 'til seven at night. I'm just trying to make a funny show."

"You know the grind and you know me," Fallon continued, addressing his critics directly. "Of all the people in the world, I'm one of the good people. I mean, really. You don't even know what you're talking about if you say that I'm evil or whatever. Some people don't even want to hear anything else. They're like, 'No, you did that!' You go, 'Well, just calm down. Just look at the whole thing and just actually see my body of work.'"

Fallon's voice began to quiver as he fought back tears, saying the ordeal led to a period of depression.

"It was definitely a down time, and it was tough for morale," he said. "There's 300 people that work here, and so when people are talking that bad about you and ganging up on you, in a really gang-mentality, you go, 'All right, we get it. I heard you. You made me feel bad. So now what? Are you happy? I'm depressed. Do you want to push me more? What do you want me to do? You want me to kill myself? What would make you happy?' Get over it."

"I don't want to make anyone angry; I never do and I never will," he added. "It's all in the fun of the show. I made a mistake. I'm sorry if I made anyone mad, and looking back, I would do it differently."

Trump got wind of the interview Sunday night and took to Twitter to shred the comedian.

"Jimmy Fallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous 'hair show' with me (where he seriously messed up my hair) and that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have 'humanized' me," POTUS posted. "He is taking heat. He called and said 'monster ratings.' Be a man, Jimmy!"

Fallon -- who's often been criticized for not being political enough both IRL and on his late-night platform -- replied to Trump, writing, "In honor of the president's tweet, I'll be making a donation to RAICES in his name."

(RAICES is the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, a Texas-based non-profit organization designed to help immigrants and their children, through free or low-cost legal services.)

The migrant border crisis that has been shaking up the world began with Donald Trump's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy at the U.S.-Mexico border that has resulted in agents separating children (even babies) from parents when sending those attempting to cross the border to detainment centers. On Wednesday, he signed an executive order to end family separation and "keep families together," but the problem is far from over as he explained that the "zero-tolerance" policy would continue.

"The Tonight Show" returns to NBC Monday night, where Fallon will presumably address his response to Trump's Twitter attack.