Stephen Colbert mocks President Trump’s sarcasm defense on Twitter

Stephen Colbert is the last person who would believe President Donald Trump was being sarcastic about disinfectants as treatment.

Sarcasm doesn’t have a place in a government press briefing on a pandemic. It is much more at home in a place like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. So it was fitting that President Donald Trump’s attempt to excuse his suggestion that people inject disinfectants would be relentlessly mocked by Stephen Colbert.

President Trump received immediate push back and condemnation after he remarked that ultraviolet light and/or disinfectants could be used to treat COVID-19. Considering the fall out of his hydroxychloroquine endorsement, most would hope the president would avoid medical recommendations at the podium.

In response to the backlash, President Trump argued that he was being sarcastic to test reporters. And by reporting what he said, journalists apparently fell right into his sarcasm trap. But viewing the comments from his press briefing make it clear that President Trump was in no way joking or attempting sarcasm.

Stephen Colbert spent years as a master of sarcasm and satire on The Colbert Report. Now his Late Show is dedicated to exposing and laughing at the president night after night. There was no better place in late night to turn to for a response:

Colbert reports that calls to poison control increased after President Trump’s comments, suggesting that people actually followed his advice. This put the president into a damage control mode–something he has had to do often but rarely achieves his goal.

The Late Show and others have consistently pointed out how angry President Trump becomes when his own words are used against him. For someone infatuated with fame and attention, the president seems to often forget that he is recorded in public and his comments reported by the press.

Yet as Colbert highlights, President Trump went on the attack against the press via Twitter. His tweets on journalists winning the “Noble Prize” were widely ridiculed both for the fact journalists are awarded Pulitzer Prizes and it is the “Nobel,” not “noble.”

The teasing and insults then baited President Trump into using the sarcasm defense yet again. It sets up Colbert perfectly to deliver a sarcasm-heavy approval of the amazing job the president is doing during the pandemic.

President Trump continues to put himself in a difficult situation. His need to be out in front of cameras combined with his lack of preparation means he is likely to say something completely off-base. He can claim he is laying a trap for reporters and the “fake news” but President Trump is the one repeatedly getting caught by the likes of Stephen Colbert.

What did you think of Stephen Colbert’s response? Let us know in the comment section below. Keep checking Last Night On for more highlights from The Late Show and the rest of late night television. For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.