Of all the reasons Donald Trump has refused to wear a mask in public in the four-plus months since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S., high on the list must be fear of ridicule. That would explain why the few times he has supposedly worn a mask off-camera, he’s bragged about how good he looks and compared himself to the Lone Ranger.
On Monday night, his worst nightmare came true.
After making his first-ever public appearance in a mask at Walter Reed Hospital over the weekend, Trump was mercilessly mocked Monday night by Late Night host Seth Meyers.
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“Yesterday, according to The New York Times, Germany reported 159 new cases, Canada reported 243 new cases while the U.S. reported a total of 57,789 new cases,” Meyers said. “So you know, perfect timing for the president to start wearing a mask.”
“Of course he went with black,” the host said as the photo of Trump’s masked face appeared on screen. “It looks like there’s about to be a shoot-out at the Golden Corral.” And then: “Seriously, dude, get a different mask. That color combined with your mane makes you look like a muzzled horse.”
But while Trump’s advisers acted like this was a “big deal,” sending out tweets praising their boss for showing the bare minimum of responsible behavior, Meyers shot back, “Who cares? You’re four months late! It’s like someone saying, ‘Should we not do a live-action Cats?’ now.”
Trevor Noah similarly roasted Trump for finally putting on a mask—and took a swipe at CNN’s Van Jones—joking on The Daily Show, “I don’t know about you, but I think this is the day Donald Trump finally became president.”
“Look, I’m glad that Trump finally put a mask on, but it’s got to be confusing for his supporters who have been mocking face masks this whole time,” he added. “I mean, to them this must be like seeing Trump at a Black Lives Matter march with AOC.”
Noting that Trump has avoided wearing a mask in public “because he is self-conscious about his image,” Noah told the president directly, “Don’t listen to any of the haters out there saying you look like a diabetic Bane or Shredder from the Ninja Turtles if all he shredded was cheese. You look great. So please keep wearing the mask.”
And then there was Stephen Colbert, who celebrated Trump’s mask photo-op by laughing at the president and saying, “Fell for it, sucker! This was all the long con! We’ve been wearing them just to get you to look stupid. You’ve been health’d!”
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