There have been a large number of different news topics to discuss about Donald Trump this week, from his return to daily coronavirus briefings, to his ordering the Department of Homeland Security to police cities despite the protests of local leaders, to his obsession with a test of his cognitive faculties that he took a while back. But in a new “A Closer Look” on Wednesday, Seth Meyers started off by discussing something strange he said this week about Ghislaine Maxwell.
During the coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, Trump was asked about his relationship with Maxwell, who was recently arrested on the charge that she was an accomplice to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. And Trump said: “I just wish her well, frankly. I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well.”
So, naturally, Meyers had a field day with this on Wednesday’s episode of “Late Night.”
“Donald Trump is trailing Joe Biden by as much as 15 points in the latest polls. He’s as unpopular as any president modern history, and he’s facing a larger deficit than any incumbent has ever overcome at this point the campaign,” Meyers began. “But as we all know, Donald Trump is a master tactician and a marketing genius. It was only a matter of time before he cooked up a foolproof plan to win back those voters. And on Tuesday, with the nation’s eyes upon him at a televised press briefing, he finally deployed his latest master stroke.”
“Late Night” then played the clip of Trump’s comments about Maxwell.
“Checkmate, Joe Biden. Just like the Trump team drew it up on the chalkboard. In front of millions of Americans, the president publicly sent well wishes to an alleged sex trafficker while reminding everyone he’s been friends with her for years,” Meyers joked. “I mean, you just can’t teach that kind of political talent. Now all Trump has to do is sit back and watch the votes roll in. Now, I know you Monday morning quarterbacks out there might think that publicly sending well wishes to Jeffrey Epstein’s wing woman 100 days before a presidential election is, shall we say, a misstep.
“But you see, Trump is always ten steps ahead. When you go left, he goes right. When you zig, he says nice things about someone who was recently apprehended by federal agents while hiding out in a remote compound. Because if there is one thing that Trump’s base cares most about, it’s a woman whose first name sounds like a French perfume for someone who is keeping a secret.”
But for Meyers, the funniest part of Trump’s comments weren’t the comments themselves, but rather the reaction from Trump’s campaign staff.
“They only called this press conference to try to improve Trump’s poll numbers. You know they must have tried so hard to keep him on script. ‘Mr. President we just need you to focus on the facts on the coronavirus, and only the facts. So just, you know, stick to the script. All you have to do is sound presidential and the media will eat it up,’” Meyers said, before slipping into his Trump impression.
“‘Don’t worry. I won’t let you down. Just one question: should I remind people that I partied with Epstein? Is that a good idea or great idea? I think it might be a great idea.’”
In the next portion of the segment, Meyers ripped followed this up by ripping the media for trying to laud Trump for allegedly sounding “presidential” during another part of that same briefing.
You can watch the entire “A Closer Look” segment from Wednesday episode of “Late Night With Seth Meyers” in the video embedded up there at the top of this article, or on YouTube right here.