“A massive outbreak at the White House is not karma, it’s consequences,” Noah said on “The Daily Show.” “It’s not karma to get hit by lightning when you’re standing on the roof of a skyscraper holding a metal rod while there’s lightning. The universe didn’t do that s--- to you. You did that s--- to yourself!”
While details remain murky about Trump’s true condition and questions linger about the White House’s lack of safety protocols and decision not to do contact tracing amid the mass outbreak, late-night comics lambasted Trump on Monday over his own infection and his handling of the pandemic.
“They are inveterate liars, they can’t help themselves. They’re also really bad at it. Seriously, what’s more troubling — that they lie all the time or that they lie all the time and have shown no improvement in lying?” Seth Meyers said on NBC’s “Late Night.” “It’s like sending your kid to math camp for a week and when they come back, they tell you it was the toughest nine days of their life.”
Several hosts homed in on a staged photo op the White House released of Trump working inside Walter Reed National Military Medical Hospital over the weekend. Although the photos showed the president sitting in two different rooms, metadata reviewed by The Washington Post showed the images — including one of Trump writing on a blank sheet of paper — were taken minutes apart.
“People are saying that he’s just writing his name on a blank piece of paper. But that’s not true,” Jimmy Fallon said on NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” “That’s not a blank piece of paper. That’s just his entire plan to stop covid.”
“President? He looks like he should have a booth at Comic-Con,” Meyers said.
Trump also drew particular scorn from the comics over his decision on Sunday to ride in an SUV so he could wave at supporters outside the hospital, potentially exposing Secret Service members to the virus.
“Nothing projects strength like waving from the back seat of an SUV like a kid headed for soccer practice,” Meyers said. “Smart move keeping your juice box between your knees.”
The president’s stay in the hospital didn’t stop his usual Twitter rants. On Sunday, Trump posted a video of him standing in his hospital suite, which Meyers said “cost more than the $750 you paid in taxes.” In that video, the president said he had “learned a lot about covid” from his treatments.
“Really? You’re learning now?” Stephen Colbert said on CBS’s “The Late Show.” Imitating Trump, Colbert added: “For the last eight months, I’ve heard about millions of people getting infected with covid, hundreds of thousands of [them] dying. But how could I know these people were real if they weren’t me? But now they are me. My thoughts and prayers go to all of myself.”
Meyers noted that it was no surprise that at least 10 guests at a White House event introducing Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, have now tested positive for the coronavirus. Images from the event showed attendees hugging and talking in close quarters without masks.
“If there was an epidemic of bear attacks, these people would be running around in the woods wearing scarves made of sausage links,” Meyers said.
Noah added that the number of people in Trump’s orbit who now have the virus is almost too predictable.
“It’s almost like the writers of 2020 didn’t know how to wrap the story up so they were just like ‘Uh, and then they all get coronavirus. The end’” Noah said.
Many of the hosts zeroed in on Trump’s tweet on Monday announcing that he was returning to the White House.
“Good news, it’s safe for the president to return home. Mostly because everyone at the White House already has the virus,” Fallon said.
In the tweet, the president told the American people: “Don’t be afraid of covid. Don’t let it dominate your life,” adding that he feels “better than I did 20 years ago!”
Noah pointed out Trump’s privilege in being able to make those statements.
“Yeah, that’s right, America. Don’t be afraid of covid and don’t let it dominate your life. Because as long as you can take your private helicopter from your home hospital to an even better hospital, you’ll be great,” Noah said. “Oh, and by the way, to the 200,000 Americans who got covid and don’t feel better than they did 20 years ago, I guess that’s on you.”
Colbert noted that when Trump arrived back at the White House on Monday, standing on a balcony and immediately removing his mask, he was returned to a site where many have already been infected.
“The Trump administration is now the hot zone,” Colbert said. “Coming this fall from Aaron Sorkin: ‘The Infest Wing.’”