The U.S. continues to burn — literally, in some states — with over 188,000 Americans dead due to the coronavirus pandemic, the economy in absolute shambles, and protests against racial injustice still ongoing. Unfortunately, President Donald Trump appears determined to pour oil on the metaphorical fire, with a recent CBS poll finding voters believe he is encouraging fighting rather than calming the situation down.
"Of course he is! He's not exactly a calming presence," quipped Late Night host Seth Meyers on Tuesday, noting Kellyanne Conway straight up said more violence would be better for Trump's re-election prospects. "He dresses like retired Darth Vader, yells like he's on the other side of six lanes of traffic, and even his smile looks like it was directed by Stanley Kubrick. He's the human embodiment of tension and fighting."
Meyers also tackled Trump's attempt to frame himself as an anti-war president in response to the Atlantic's report that he called Americans who died in war "losers" and "suckers."
"[The report] has been been confirmed by multiple outlets, including the AP, CNN, and even Fox News," said Meyers. "And also by common sense — I mean, it sounds exactly like something Trump would say."
In what Meyers considered to be Trump's "most brazen and infuriating act of reality distortion yesterday," the president claimed U.S. troops love him (not exactly true) and that Pentagon officials dislike him for his self-proclaimed stance against endless wars.
"This is an especially infuriating lie coming from a guy who has repeatedly touted billions in arms sales to a brutal regime in Saudi Arabia, vetoed a bill to end U.S. involvement in the horrific war in Yemen, massively expanded bombing campaigns across the world including a record number in Afghanistan, increased the Pentagon's budget for the fifth consecutive year to the point where it's now near Iraq War levels, added billions to a Pentagon slush fund specifically for war fighting, and has bragged about sending U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia because Saudi Arabia would pay for it," rattled off Meyers.
Meyers then backed up his disgust with a 2018 clip of Trump proudly showing off a poster of the weapons the U.S. was selling to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
"He should have just worn a waiter's uniform and brought the weapons in on a dessert tray," said Meyers, before breaking out his Trump impersonation. "'Would you like Bradley tanks, or the Hercules rockets, or perhaps the chocolate mousse?'"
