Late-night TV rips Trump over coronavirus confession to Bob Woodward

Late-night TV hosts Trevor Noah, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers reacted to Bob Woodward’s bombshell tapes

President Donald Trump suffered another self-inflicted wound on Wednesday when taped conversations he had with journalist Bob Woodward were released in which the president admitted to downplaying the severity of COVID-19. You can bet that late-night TV hosts had a lot to say about the revelation.

The story quickly became breaking news as the president’s critics attacked him, citing the confession as another example of his failed leadership during the pandemic. The White House was forced to defend the president during a press briefing that struggled to change the narrative.

The confession came during a series of interviews with legendary investigative reporter Bob Woodward for his forthcoming book Rage. The audio regarding President Trump admitting to downplaying the novel coronavirus broke early enough in the day for late-night shows to cover the story on last night’s shows.

Late-night TV’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah also covered President Trump’s thoughts on systemic racism

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah has become the best place in late-night to get the gist of the latest Trump scandal. Last night on the show, Trevor Noah quickly summed up the Trump tapes and placed them in the context of the president’s public statements on COVID-19.

Noah then turns to dismantle the excuse that President Trump didn’t want to create a panic. It seems as if creating a panic has been the Trump 2020 strategy since protests against racial injust began earlier this summer.

Speaking of racial justice, it’s one of the other topics Bob Woodward spoke to President Trump about on the record. Here, Noah lays into President Trump’s denial of white privilege and systemic racism just as other members of his administration have done.

Late-night TV leader Jimmy Fallon called the tapes insane while responding to President Trump’s comments

Last night on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon didn’t mince words when he said that President Trump lied to the American people. The pandemic has brought out a bit more bite in Fallon’s monologues as he appears more willing to attack the president with multiple shots each night.

Fallon calls the bombshell tapes “insane” and jokes that while it would end any other presidency, it’s just another day for Donald Trump. The Tonight Show host also tried to wrap his head around President Trump’s excuse that he didn’t want to create a panic.

For Fallon, people stocking up on toilet paper and being afraid to touch a doorknob counts as a panic. So by downplaying the novel coronavirus, President Trump didn’t do much to protect Americans as Fallon sees it.

Seth Meyers’ monologue ripped both President Trump and Bob Woodward during his late-night TV monologue

Late Night with Seth Meyers touched on the Bob Woodward tapes during “A Closer Look.” But not surprisingly, a story this big also led off the monologue.

Like his fellow late-night TV hosts, Meyers pushed back at the idea of President Trump trying to prevent panic. Fear-mongering has been a major part of his political career and is the cornerstone of his campaign in 2020.

Meyers also has some choice words for Woodward. The Late Night host asks why Woodward sat on this information for months, potentially making the consequences of the pandemic that much worse. Then again, given what President Trump has said and done in the past, it’s hard to know if it would have made any difference.

Which late-night TV host do you think had the best reaction to the Trump tapes? Let us know in the comment section below.