On “Late Show,” Mr. Letterman asked Mr. Trump about the duty of the wealthy to give back. Mr. Letterman and Mr. Trump had such an amiable rapport that they could disagree heatedly without rancor. “Until it smacks of racism.”When Mr. Trump was considered by many to be a diversion, Mr. Letterman approached Mr. Trump’s outrageous comments with moral gravity. Mr. Letterman not only went further than Dr. Phil, who said he didn’t think Mr. Trump was a racist, but argued earlier than most that what Mr. Trump was doing merited a serious response, not just jokes. On the same show where Mr. Letterman apologized, Mr. Trump had barely sat down before noting it was the first day of sweeps.

Source: New York Times August 15, 2017 19:07 UTC