Over two million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the U.S., including more than 115,000 deaths. Despite this, President Donald Trump insisted on delivering West Point's commencement address, with students who'd gone home to socially distance during the pandemic brought back to provide him an audience.
Trump's speech predictably didn't have the aggrandizing effect he was hoping for. However, the apparent health issue that stole the spotlight wasn't the one you'd expect. Instead of Trump's oratory skills (or lack thereof), most attention has gone to the moment the U.S. president "slowly descended a ramp like an old man being walked across the street by a Boy Scout," according to Late Night host Seth Meyers on Tuesday. "You know, for a guy who constantly talks about how tough he is, he sure walks like a baby deer on a frozen pond."
"I watched that and for the first time thought, 'Fuck, maybe he does have bone spurs!'" Meyers continued, noting that Trump's toddling sparked significant speculation regarding the president's health. Being unable to sprint down a ramp at the age of 74, or any age, isn't itself worthy of mockery. However, Trump's obsession with appearing tough and strong in all aspects — and his subsequent tweet insisting it was an especially long, steep, wet ramp, OK? — meant it turned into a whole thing.
"Have his bones been hollowed out by years of artificial sweetener and asbestos? Is his blood mostly ketchup and Diet Coke?" wondered Meyers. "Still, we are not going to speculate. But if Donald Trump saw someone else walking like that, you know he would definitely speculate."
Meanwhile, protests against police brutality and racism have entered their third week, encouraging various officials across the U.S. to take steps toward police reform. However, as Meyers noted, some action has been more substantial than others.
"Now, there's a wide spectrum there. Some of these are good first steps, others are clearly insufficient. But I have to say, in the year 2020, banning chokeholds and taking down monuments to white supremacy should be the absolute bare minimum," said Meyers. "It's like going in for a checkup and your doctor saying, 'Just so you know, I graduated high school.'"
