-Since our last "A Closer Look" four days ago,
the president's head of fund raising,
Kimberly Guilfoyle, who's also Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend,
was accused of showing [bleep] pics from romantic partners
and fans to an assistant at Fox News,
and then the First Lady was caught on tape
delivering a profanity-laced tirade about migrant children
and basically saying [bleep] Christmas,
and none of it mattered.
We couldn't even have one day enjoying those stories
because immediately after that, the president,
a.k.a., the Grinch who stole [bleep] Christmas,
and a bunch of high-ranking Republican officials
tested positive for coronavirus,
effectively hobbling the US government,
putting untold numbers of people at risk.
And then on Sunday, after several days
of brazen lying about the situation from the White House,
the president took a joyride in his motorcade
while he was still infectious,
infuriating medical experts and Secret Service agents.
But, hey, at least it's November, right?
Oh. It's October. October what?
5th?!
You mean, like, the fifth week of October?
Five days?! Oh, boy.
I better drink this Red Bull to stay awake.
I'm just kidding. I can't sleep.
It's time for "A Closer Look."
♪♪
We are seven months into a pandemic that has killed
210,000 Americans and infected more than 7 million.
On Friday we recorded over 50,000 new cases,
the most since mid-August,
while only three states saw declines,
and there were 30,000 Americans hospitalized with COVID-19.
Among them, the president of the United States.
But don't worry, the president reassured us all
in a message from his hospital suite
that this has been a very educational experience for him.
-We have enthusiasm like probably nobody's ever had.
Our people that love the job we're doing,
we have more enthusiasm than maybe anybody.
So, it's been a very interesting journey.
I learned lot about COVID.
I learned it by really going to school.
This is the real school.
This isn't the "Let's read the book" school.
And I get it. And I understand it.
-First of all, "Let's read the book" school
is just school.
That's what school is.
It's like calling it a "Let's eat the food" restaurant
or "Let's do the exercise" gym.
Second, now you've learned a lot about COVID?
Maybe you could have looked into it a little bit
before you and 7 million other Americans got it.
You can learn to cross the street safely
without getting hit by a bus first.
He's like dud in a full body cast saying,
"Great news. I learned a lot about 'Don't walk' signs."
This is a deadly disease, and you sound like a retiree
posting Facebook photos from your trip to the Caribbean.
[ As Trump ] It's been an interesting journey.
We tried mahi-mahi and learned how to dance the merengue.
[ Normal voice ] If only there was a way to learn about
this deadly and highly infectious disease
without getting it.
[ As Trump ] Fauci, why didn't you tell me
this thing was so bad?
Oh, you shouldn't touch your face, Fauci.
I learned that the only way you can, by catching COVID.
I'm basically a doctor now. We're colleagues, Fauci.
You're my best friend.
[ Normal voice ] Also, what do you mean
this is the real school?
You sound like a divorced dad
taking his 12-year-old to the OTB.
[ Inhales sharply ] [ Gruff voice ] All right.
This isn't "Let's read the book" school.
This is where you learn about real life.
Now, when you go in, remember,
bet it all on three legs.
What's that? No, no, no, Daddy can't come in.
Yeah, yeah, it does have to do with a picture
of my driver's license on the back wall.
Eh, it's hard to explain.
You know that kite you fly in the backyard?
Well, Daddy did that with some checks.
[ Normal voice ] And then shortly after that,
Trump staged a shockingly reckless photo op
when he left the hospital still infectious
with a deadly virus and made his security detail
drive him past a throng of supporters in his motorcade.
Nothing projects strength like waving from the back seat
of an SUV like a kid headed for soccer practice.
Smart move keeping your juice box between your knees.
So when you said you learned about COVID,
did you mean you learned how to spread it?
Surprised he didn't jump out of the SUV and crowd surf.
Seriously, you're in an enclosed space with other people.
What's next, are you going to cough on the Girl Scouts
who sold the most cookies in a Walter Reed elevator?
This image captures all the heedless negligence
and disregard for human life that has characterized
the Trump administration and its response to the pandemic.
He exposed Secret Service agents, among others,
to a deadly virus just for a quick ego boost.
Doctors and Secret Service agents
were aghast at the spectacle.
So what prompted this reckless jaunt
that put people in harm's way?
According to "The Washington Post,"
Trump told advisers on Sunday he was getting bored
being in the hospital and was tiring
of watching coverage of his hospitalization.
Oh, you were bored? Well, that must be nice.
Meanwhile, the rest of us stop, drop and roll
every time a CNN alert pops up on our phones.
Bored? You hospital suite is basically a luxury apartment.
I hate to point this out, but that room
and your top of the line medical care probably cost
more than the $750 you paid in taxes.
You know what $750 normally gets you in a hospital?
Three Tylenol -- three regular-strength Tylenol.
So not only are we paying
for your top-of-the-line medical care,
but you're also missing work.
I mean, did you even sign that blank piece of paper
like we asked you?
Oh, you did. Okay.
That's my bad. That's my bad.
Thank you. We needed that right away.
I mean, these people don't even know how to fake work.
We should put out a photo showing he's hard at work.
Good idea. What would that be?
[ Groans ] I don't know.
This is crazy, but maybe signing a blank piece of paper?
Does a president do that?
President, he looks like he should have a booth
at Comic-Con.
By the way, while all this is happening,
there's still a presidential election less than a month away.
In fact, I can't believe this is the case,
but as we speak, the president the entirety
of the institutional Republican Party,
and its vast legal apparatus are desperately trying
to disrupt and undermine an election that's happening
in less than 30 days, and it's like the, what,
eighth biggest story in the news right now?
A prehistoric sea monster
could awaken from a thousand-year slumber
and rampage through Manhattan.
It would be relegated to page 12 of the real-estate section.
Absolutely insane, shocking,
eye-popping quotes show up in the news all the time now.
And we just flip past them like we're browsing through
paint swatches at Home Depot.
For example, the A.P. reported that Trump and the GOP
are attacking voting rules across the country.
And buried in that story was this quote from a GOP lawyer
who led George Bush's legal team in the 2000 Florida recount.
"It's clearly based on an overall strategy
to disrupt the election as much as possible."
"You're really seeing a broad-based,
generalized strategy to suppress the vote
by the Republican Party."
Okay. Well, that sucks.
Too bad, I guess.
It'd be great to spend some more time on that.
But CNN just reported that our infectious president
is at the US Mint licking the nickels.
[ As Trump ] I want them to have that nice corona sheen.
[ Normal voice ] But there's a common thread here
between Trump's denial of reality when it comes to COVID
and his denial of reality when it comes to voting.
The GOP's attempt to disrupt the election is based on the lie
that mail voting leads to fraud.
At last week's presidential debate,
Trump said ballots were being dumped in creeks and rivers
despite the fact that obviously no such thing has happened.
And on Thursday, White House Press Secretary
Kayleigh McEnany, who today also tested positive,
held a maskless indoor press briefing
where she tried to defend the comment about rivers in a clip
that sadly was overshadowed by the rest of the news
because it's one of my favorite exchanges from the Trump era.
-The local authorities.
It was a ditch in Wisconsin that they were found in.
I can get the article to your inbox if you like.
And you're missing the forest for the trees here.
The point is --
-There used to be curiosity.
In fact, "The Washington Post"...
Said mail-in voting is not ready
to scale up in the middle of the pandemic.
Now there's no journalistic curiosity
when we're finding --
100,000 ballots were sent out in Brooklyn.
They were inaccurate ballots, and then 100,000 more --
Shameful filibustering and lack of journalistic curiosity.
Yes? Yes?
-Incredible. The president and his aides are so deranged
that for reporters to just inquire about basic facts
sounds like an argument between
Lewis and Clark if they were lost.
"Where's the river, Lewis?" "I'm looking."
"Is there a river or not?" "Clark, it's very hard
to do this with you badgering me.
Oh! There it is. No. No.
Ohh. That's a ditch."
"Lewis!"
Which brings us... That's how they talked.
...brings us to the common throughline
from the mail ballot story to the White House COVID cluster
which now includes several cases that can apparently
be traced back to the Rose Garden ceremony
announcing the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett
to the Supreme Court, an event in which attendees
are seen hugging and talking in close proximity
and at which there were even indoor events
without masks or social distancing.
If there was an epidemic of bear attacks,
these people would be running around in the woods
wearing scarves made of sausage links.
The reason they were rushing to have this super spreader gala
in the first place was so they could get
their conservative super majority on the court
in time for the election Trump is trying to undermine,
and for a Supreme Court case in November
in which Trump is trying to destroy Obamacare
and rip healthcare away from millions amid a pandemic
including those with pre-existing conditions,
among them the 7 million Americans
who have now been infected with COVID,
and in doing so, they ended up getting sick themselves.
If this were one of Aesop's fables, even Aesop
would be like, "Do I really need to spell it out to you guys?"
They're all so brazen, and their lack of empathy --
again, I can't believe I have to explain this --
but it's not just about you.
Even if you don't care about your own health,
you can get other people sick.
For example, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson
took a COVID test on Friday.
And then while he was waiting for his results,
went to a political event anyway.
-Senator Ron Johnson also announcing
he has tested positive for coronavirus.
He says he learned he was positive after attending
a fundraiser last night.
Senator Ron Johnson says he took a COVID test Friday in Oshkosh
as he was headed to an Ozaukee County event.
The senator says he was socially distant at the fundraiser
and had a mask on except when he was speaking.
-What do you mean you had a mask on except when speaking?
You were addressing a crowd indoors.
That's like only taking the safety off the gun
when it's your turn on the trampoline.
You should have been self-isolating, but instead,
you were at an Oktoberfest dinner?
You're the "wurst"! [worst] Danke.
Danke schoen.
Shoemaker, I give that joke a "Nein!" [nine] out of ten.
[ Laughter ]
The attempt to undermine the election,
the Rose Garden super spreader gala,
the constant lying about everything,
in a way, it's all one story.
That's maybe the most bewilderling -- bewildering
fact of life in the Trump era.
Every day there's a shocking new thing you could never have
imagined in your wildest dreams. And yet, at the same time,
every Trump story is basically the same Trump story.
We can't believe a word the president or his aides say.
We have no idea what to believe.
It's the Sharpie map over and over again.
If Trump was your local meteorologist,
you'd have to leave the house every day with shorts,
a rain coat, tank top, a sweater, snow boots,
sunglasses, and an umbrella,
assuming, that is, you know how it use it.
They're inveterate liars. They can't help themselves.
They're also really bad at it.
Seriously, what's more troubling,
that they lie all the time or that they lie all the time
and have shown no improvement in lying?
It's like sending your kid to math camp for a week.
When they come back, they tell you it was the toughest
nine days of their life.
Think of all the people
put in danger by this reckless behavior.
Trump's getting the best medical care anywhere in the world,
as are the Republican senators and officials
who presumably have excellent health insurance.
But what about the powerless people whose names
you will never hear who might have also been exposed?
Just like Ron Johnson,
Trump also continued traveling after the White House knew
that Hope Hicks had tested positive on Thursday
and that Trump had potentially been exposed.
In fact, we now know from "The Wall Street Journal"
that Trump had already gotten his positive test result back
when he called into Sean Hannity's show on Thursday
and said this. -So, she did test positive.
I just heard about this. And I just went out with a test.
'Cause we spend a lot of time, and the first lady
just went out with a test also.
So whether we quarantine or whether we have it,
I don't know.
So I just went for a test,
and we'll see what happens. I mean, who knows?
-You knew. He's such a bad liar.
He's like a burned-out teen who gets caught with weed.
"Donald, is this pot in your bag?"
[ As Trump ] Who knows? Smoke it?
Should we smoke it? See what happens?
Also, poor Hannity. He thinks he's your best bud.
And you won't even confide in him?
He's going to be devastated when he finds out you lied.
Don't be surprised if he shows up outside your hospital room
"Say Anything" style.
In fact, "The Wall Street Journal"
reports that there was a culture of secrecy and an attempt
to cover up any positive test results in the White House
rather than inform the public as virus spread
among the people closest to him.
Mr. Trump asked one adviser not to disclose results
of their own positive test.
"Don't tell anyone," Mr. Trump said.
My God, man, haven't you ever seen a zombie movie?
That never works. You try to cover up a zombie bite,
and then the next thing you know, your eyes are bloodshot,
color's gone from your face and you're yelling about
Joe Biden taking Adderall on "Fox & Friends."
"Rudy, when did you get bit?"
[ As Giuliani ] 1985. I got bit by a rat, a bat,
a zombie, and a potato. New York was different then.
[ Normal voice ] And then this afternoon,
Trump announced that he'd be leaving the hospital
and then used it once again as occasion to downplay
the severity of the virus. -The president says that he is
going to be leaving the hospital.
This is what he just tweeted,
"I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center
today at 6:30 p.m.
Feeling really good," he said. "Don't be afraid of COVID.
Don't let it dominate your life.
We have developed under the Trump administration
some really great drugs and knowledge.
I feel better than I did 20 years ago."
-Remember, he might get better from COVID,
but he will never get better as a person.
I mean, of course you can say don't be afraid of COVID.
You have the best
taxpayer-funded medical care in the world.
It's easy to say "Don't be afraid
to jump out of this plane" when you're the only one
with a parachute.
For seven months, the president denied reality
and said the virus would magically disappear.
The cases would go down to zero, that we were turning a corner.
And then he was hospitalized with the disease himself
after having potentially exposed lots of other people,
all so he and his allies could rush to get
a conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court
to help them steal the election and destroy Obamacare.
Trump has been uncomfortably ensconced
at one of the best medical facilities in the world
while he and his allies
try to rip healthcare away from millions.
After months of denying reality,
forcing workers back to unsafe jobs,
and pushing teachers and students back to...
-"Let's read the book" school. -This has been "A Closer Look."
♪♪
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