Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Trevor Noah compare Trump's rocky coronavirus picture to a horror show
President Trump's rose-colored response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak got the horror movie treatment on Tuesday's Daily Show.
New York's response to an outbreak in New Rochelle — "the National Guard, 'containment area'" — certainly sounds like "Family Feud answers for the question: 'Name something you hear in a zombie apocalypse,'" Stephen Colbert said on The Late Show. "Fear of the virus has had a huge effect on the economy. Yesterday, the Dow fell 2,000 points, so the president immediately held a press conference to announce his plan to plan to have a plan to do stuff."
"You'd think Trump would be taking the threat of the coronavirus more seriously than this, since he might have it," Colbert said. Instead, "not only has Trump not been tested, he seems proud of the fact he's not taking any precautions to protect the people around him. For instance, yesterday Trump arrived in Florida and immediately began shaking hands with people waiting at the airport. Yikes! That's like not using protection when having sex with a porn star you just met at a golf tournament. Who would do that?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders "both canceled rallies today because of coronavirus," Jimmy Kimmel said on Kimmel Live, but Trump said "he plans to continue shaking hands" and holding big rallies. "The White House says they have everything under control, which must be why they've delayed the release of a report from the director of national intelligence that says the Untied States is not prepared to handle a pandemic — one possible reason we might not be prepared is back in 2018, Trump fired the entire U.S. pandemic response team to save money."
"Everyone now seems to think they're an expert on the coronavirus," Kimmel said, so he sent a camera crew out to test the knowledge of people on the street. It went better than you might expect.
Trevor Noah did a brief survey of how other countries are tackling the coronavirus, but in the U.S. "the buzz phrase of the moment is 'social distancing,'" he said on The Daily Show. "Everyone, from schools to businesses, festivals, political rallies — everyone is doing their part to keep their social distance. ... All of us here are working on social distancing to protect old people, who are the most at risk, but then old people are just out there living their best life." Watch his lecture below. Peter Weber
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
How does the House Ethics Committee work?
In the Spotlight And what does that mean for Matt Gaetz?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
The ultimate podcast list of 2024
The Week Recommends Some of the best podcast series released in the past year or so
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: December 26, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published