Where there is a national crisis, there is typically a leftist late night host attempting to politicize and exploit the situation. Count among them NBC Late Night host Seth Meyers, who hosted Senator Kamala Harris on Tuesday night’s show to skewer conservatives and President Trump alike.
The lead-off question from Meyers was an obvious effort to stir the partisan pot:
Congress is sort of known for taking a good amount of recesses. But a recess during a pandemic seems sort of outside the bounds of good reason. Are you surprised right now that Mitch McConnell does not have the Senate in session?
Harris retorted: “Frankly, yes, I am. Yes, I am….”
Checking off villain McConnell from his insult list for the evening, Meyers turned the subject to President Trump to downgrade and disparage his role in the coronavirus relief response. Even suggesting at one point that the President is undercutting the government's effort to assist Americans:
You mentioned the $2 trillion bill that was passed. This was a bipartisan effort; it was one of those moments where it looked like everyone was coming together. The Democrats fought hard for oversight of this $2 trillion. Just today the President fired the independent watchdog in charge of that. Are there any tools, is there any recourse left for you? Or is this just another case of basically a good idea evaporating because of the President's actions?
Harris concurred with her fellow liberal in a vitriolic spiel:
Seth, I just have to say this, you know, this is that moment where the people of our country need their government to work. But Donald Trump came into office never understanding the role or the importance of government, especially as it relates to its three essential functions, one of which is public health... But we have a president who goes on an almost nightly basis, you know, the only person that should be talking is Fauci and does not seem to understand the role and the responsibility he has to save lives.
Clearly optimizing on the opportunity to hit all the left’s hot-button issues, Meyers moved forward with the topic of race in relation to the current pandemic:
What do the communities or, you know, what we consider -- not just how many communities are being hit but minority communities are being hit even harder by this. Is there anything to do as far as how to address that now and more importantly, how to address what is at the root of that, when this does come to pass because obviously this is baked into society. The fact that every time something goes wrong in this country, it does seem like communities of color are the hardest hit.
In a classic liberal response, Harris implied that America is discriminatory towards minorities: “I mean, it's the least of these. Those who have always been at the short end of the stick, in a moment of crisis, it becomes even more evident, and in this case even more fatal.
Lastly, Meyers broached the topic of elections in the midst of the coronavirus scare, specifically the Wisconsin Primary:
So, the Supreme Court decided yesterday that Wisconsin had to go ahead with their primary as scheduled today. So, now you have a situation that during a pandemic, people are going in public. We've already seen photos of long lines where, you know, people are exercising their right to vote, but also wearing masks and trying to stay six feet away from other voters. You know, I think there's both a core fear about what that means about today, but also what it means about our election in November…
Harris then brought the conversation full circle as she cited racism as the driving factor in the Supreme Court’s decision to keep the 2020 election cycle on schedule:
Yeah, well, let's talk about the Supreme Court's ruling in 2013 in Shelby V. Holder when they gutted the Voting Rights Act. Let's talk about the fallout of that, which is that two dozen states, almost, passed laws immediately through their state legislatures that were designed to prohibit or to interfere with people's right to exercise the right to vote.
Perhaps if Meyers is so perturbed with the President’s response to COVID-19, he should allow Harris to put her nose to the grindstone in Congress rather than interviewing her for his poorly-rated show.
Transcript below:
Late Night With Seth Meyers
4/7/20
12:53:43
SETH MEYERS: Congress is sort of known for taking a good amount of recesses. But a recess during a pandemic seems sort of outside the bounds of good reason. Are you surprised right now that Mitch McConnell does not have the Senate in session?
KAMALA HARRIS: Frankly, yes, I am. Yes, I am….
MEYERS: You mentioned the $2 trillion bill that was passed. This was a bipartisan effort; it was one of those moments where it looked like everyone was coming together. The Democrats fought hard for oversight of this $2 trillion. Just today the President fired the independent watchdog in charge of that. Are there any tools, is there any recourse left for you? Or is this just another case of basically a good idea evaporating because of the President's actions?
HARRIS: Seth, I just have to say this, you know, this is that moment where the people of our country need their government to work. But Donald Trump came into office never understanding the role or the importance of government, especially as it relates to its three essential functions, one of which is public health. This is that moment where the American people should be able to count on the Commander in Chief and the President of the United States to speak truth, to embrace truth, to embrace fact, to embrace science, and to be a leader, and a leader in a way that is about lifting the people up, both in terms of their needs and their spirit. But we have a president who goes on an almost nightly basis, you know, the only person that should be talking is Fauci and does not seem to understand the role and the responsibility he has to save lives.
MEYERS: What do the communities or, you know, what we consider -- not just how many communities are being hit but minority communities are being hit even harder by this. Is there anything to do as far as how to address that now and more importantly, how to address what is at the root of that, when this does come to pass because obviously this is baked into society. The fact that every time something goes wrong in this country, it does seem like communities of color are the hardest hit.
HARRIS: I mean, it's the least of these. Those who have always been at the short end of the stick, in a moment of crisis, it becomes even more evident, and in this case even more fatal. So, we've long had, historically, because of a number of issues that are about systemic and institutional racism and just inequities across the board in terms of bringing resources equally in a way that is equitable, not just equal but equitable…
(...)
MEYERS: So, the Supreme Court decided yesterday that Wisconsin had to go ahead with their primary as scheduled today. So, now you have a situation that during a pandemic, people are going in public. We've already seen photos of long lines where, you know, people are exercising their right to vote, but also wearing masks and trying to stay six feet away from other voters. You know, I think there's both a core fear about what that means about today, but also what it means about our election in November. Can you talk about the Supreme Court's ruling first and then I have a follow-up I want to ask about.
HARRIS: Yeah, well, let's talk about the supreme court's ruling in 2013 in Shelby V. Holder when they gutted the Voting Rights Act. Let's talk about the fallout of that, which is that two dozen states, almost, passed laws immediately through their state legislatures that were designed to prohibit or to interfere with people's right to exercise the right to vote.
