Stephen Colbert condemns Trump’s ‘unspeakably monstrous’ comments about blue states and coronavirus
‘These are all human lives that he is responsible for’
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Your support makes all the difference.Stephen Colbert has condemned Donald Trump’s “unspeakably monstrous” comments about blue states and the coronavirus pandemic.
The host reacted to the president’s remarks on Thursday’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump made the baseless claim that “if you take the blue states out”, the US would have a much lower overall death rate.
There is no data backing Trump’s allegation. According to Johns Hopkins University, which has consistently tracked coronavirus cases and deaths in the US and across the world, the top five states with the most deaths are New York, New Jersey, Texas, California, and Florida. New York, New Jersey, and California are blue, while Texas and Florida are red. This shows that states on both sides of the political spectrum have known high death rates during the pandemic.
Immediately after those remarks, Trump suggested that Democratic leaders “open up their states”, claiming that doing so was “very important” – a comment that is at odds with the assertion that blue states are in worse shape than their Republican counterparts.
Trump’s remarks have drawn widespread condemnation. “I’m not sure where to begin there. This is unspeakably monstrous,” Colbert said. “Especially for the president of the United States. Whoever they are, these are all human lives that he is responsible for.”
The host pointed out that the states with the most deaths are also among those with the largest populations in the US. “He’s just saying if you don’t count the states with people, he’s done a great job,” he added of Trump.
Colbert wasn’t the only late-night host speaking out against Trump’s comments. Seth Meyers said in his own segment: “As someone who lives in one of those states and knows people affected by this virus, I would just like to say: 'Go f*** yourself, you rotting, soulless business ham. But sure, if you just take out all the people that died, then you did a great job, dude.”
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