In lieu of holding political rallies where he rails away on everything from the news media to Parasite winning best picture at the Academy Awards, President Donald Trump has turned his daily coronavirus briefings into a socially distanced substitute: press conferences that afford the president another opportunity to punch down at his perceived enemies in the press.
During Monday’s briefing, for instance, Trump attacked both Fox News correspondent Kristin Fisher and ABC News chief White House correspondent Jon Karl for asking about a recently released inspector general report from the Department of Health and Human Services that confirmed hospitals around the country were short on supplies and unable to secure coronavirus tests in acceptable quantities when the pandemic began. The president rolled his eyes when Fisher said testing was still a big issue in this country. Later, he called Karl “a third-rate reporter” who “will never make it” while attempting to present the inspector general Christi Grimm as a partisan figure. The exchange left many exasperated, including The Late Show host Stephen Colbert.
“What is wrong with him?” Colbert asked on Tuesday night, before cataloging Grimm’s background. “Look, for the record, this inspector general started under Bill Clinton, served eight years for George W. Bush, eight years for Barack Obama,” Colbert said. But before he could finish by noting that Trump himself appointed Grimm earlier this year to her current role, Colbert interrupted himself. “You know what? Who gives a shit?” he said, throwing up his hands.
“Trump doesn’t understand that no one cares about these hissy fits any more. All of this drama no longer plays to the camera, sir, not even to your own supporters,” Colbert said. “Because it doesn’t matter who you voted for—everyone just wants to know the truth, ’cause that’s how you stay alive. So grow up and do your damn job. We have to; you should too.”
The host concluded with a sigh, asking a question at least some viewers probably wondered as well: “Is it still Tuesday?”
Colbert wasn’t alone in using his nightly monologue to focus on Trump’s battles with the media. On Jimmy Kimmel Live, host Jimmy Kimmel likewise played footage of Trump’s Monday sparring session, and noted how Trump has tried to police the tone of reporters, goading them into asking questions he considers more palatable.
“You know what would be great? I hope this happens. One day, all the reporters should get together and agree to only ask Trump nice questions. Just to be dicks,” Kimmel said on Tuesday. “One after the other, they’d get up and go, ‘Mr. President, why was your bold leadership so perfect and effective?’ Wouldn’t that be the best?”
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