Seth Meyers Rails Against Trump for Caring About TV Ratings More Than Dead Americans

There was one quote from a New York Times report over the weekend that really stuck out to Seth Meyers. “The president got bored with it,” an adviser to Texas’ Republican governor said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Commodus, were you not entertained?” the Late Night host asked. He said he could understand if Trump was “bored” with the quarantine. “But you’re bored with the pandemic?” he asked. “That’s your job! Would you have preferred if the coronavirus had a swimsuit contest?” 

“And even when he can be bothered to talk about the coronavirus outbreak, he can’t help but immediately veer into a topic that’s more interesting to him, like his TV ratings,” Meyers continued. Earlier in the day, Trump announced that he would be bringing back his “humiliating press briefings-slash-therapy sessions,” as the host put it, “not because there’s an out-of-control pandemic that requires leadership, but because his TV ratings were so good.” 

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the president said, “We had a lot of people watching, record numbers watching, in the history of cable television there’s never been anything like it.” He explained that he would be starting them at 5 p.m. because it’s a “good slot.” 

“It sucks so hard that we have a president who says things like ‘we had a good slot,’” Meyers said in response. “He’s bored by coronavirus but he loves TV.” 

“Also, of course the ratings were good,” the host continued. “People were locked inside with nothing to watch, desperate for information about the out-of-control virus you failed to stop. Ratings for Wheel of Fortune would be up too if Pat Sajak went on a killing spree and revealed his next victim via puzzle.” 

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