Jay Leno Awkwardly Grills Eliot Spitzer: ‘How Could You Be This Stupid?’

Former New York governor Eliot Spitzer is getting back into politics with a run to be the next comptroller of New York City. But many people still remember him best for the prostitution scandal that led to a downfall that was only briefly salvaged by a few guest columns and TV stints. Friday night, Spitzer joined Jay Leno alongside ex-SNLer and Spitzer impersonator Bill Hader. And Leno couldn’t resist getting through the interview without asking Spitzer just what the hell happened.

Other parts of the interview focused on Spitzer’s political future, but a preview clip released by NBC before the interview aired dealt with Leno confronting Spitzer about how he could have screwed himself so much five years ago.

“You’re a brilliant guy. You’re someone I was ama–you got the mob in New York, the guy that brought down Wall Street and the banks. How could you be this stupid?”

Leno brushed past the initial awkwardness, which was only highlighted by Hader visibly squirming in his chair. Leno reiterated, “How did you made this big a blunder?”

Spitzer explained that he fell victim to his own hubris, that he was infected with an overinflated sense of his own power, and said that he now has a chance to learn from his mistakes, “move on, and contribute.”

Watch a clip of the interview below, courtesy of NBC:

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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