Late night hosts deconstruct Trump's coronavirus 'buck-passing,' doubt its efficacy

Late night hosts on Trump's blame game
(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/The Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Daily Show. Late Night)

President Trump clearly "needs someone to blame for how poorly he responded to the coronavirus," so "he's defunding the World Health Organization during a global pandemic!" Stephen Colbert said on Wednesday's Late Show. "Brilliant! It's like when your house is engulfed in flames, first thing you do, burn down the fire department." Still, "I don't think this buck-passing is going to work," he said. Without a White House full of experts and intelligence, his Late Show staff knew enough to make contingency plans on Feb. 28, "and we're just a TV show! We're not supposed to be more prepared than the president of the United States!"

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Peter Weber, The Week US

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.