Despite President Donald Trump's previous claims that the coronavirus would magically disappear in April, the deadly pandemic reached an all-time peak in the U.S. this week. The country set a new personal record for most new cases in a single day on Wednesday — then promptly beat it with 39,327 new cases on Thursday.
However, as Late Show host Stephen Colbert notes, Vice President Mike Pence is stubbornly ignoring these dire signs in favor of more "encouraging" ones.
"Yeah, 2.5 million infected Americans!" quipped Late Show host Stephen Colbert on Thursday. "Don't look at the glass as half empty. Look at your lungs as half full."
Pence's lining is predictably more aluminium than silver, focusing on the fact that a larger proportion of those infected are now younger people. Of course, this completely ignores the fact that those young people are just going to spread it to older people. Also, young people absolutely can die from COVID-19.
"That's like saying, 'Phew, I'm in the clear — turns out only my girlfriend has chlamydia!'" said Colbert. "'Now to celebrate, let's lose this condom.'"
Making the pandemic worse, the Trump administration intends to stop funding coronavirus testing sites in less than a week, while the president has actively dismissed the need for face masks. The result is that many now see wearing a face mask as a matter of politics rather than health.
"So now you're a liberal snowflake if you don't want to die," quipped Colbert.
This was made particularly apparent at a recent town meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, where a man objecting to proposed mask requirements repeatedly yelled that he would die for the American flag.
"Well, congratulations," said Colbert. "If you don't wear a mask, you got a good shot at it."
