Seth Meyers took a “Closer Look” at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ rebuke of several teenagers earlier this week for wearing masks.
“If you want to be a successful Republican politician these days, you have to follow the Donald Trump playbook, which is being a loud and obnoxious ass,” Meyers said Thursday as he opened his “Late Night” segment with some background, noting Trump’s style “made him a star with Republican voters.”
“He just goes from town to town holding his one-man WrestleManias where he just loudly whines and rants and his crowd yells, ‘Lock them up!’ even when it doesn’t make any sense,” Meyers continued.
From there, the NBC late night host pivoted to directly address DeSantis’ scolding of the mask-wearing teens (in a now-viral clip), where the Governor told them to take off their masks, claiming masks didn’t do any good, and accusing the teens of participating in “COVID theater.”
“That’s the heart of modern Republican politics,” Meyers continued, pivoting from Trump’s style to that of the Florida Governor. “And that’s what was going on yesterday when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis showed up to a press conference at the University of South Florida and scolded a bunch of high school students for wearing masks.”
He continued: “How much of a dick do you have to be to yell at a bunch of high school students that are just trying to be safe? They’re actually doing the right thing and you’re scolding them for it. You’re like an old man who sees a bunch of innocent teens walking by and screams, ‘Hey, you kids! Get on my lawn. And while you’re at it, throw a frisbee through my window. It’s not a trap.’ Also, let’s just establish facts here. DeSantis is obviously wrong and masks absolutely help control the spread of COVID. Studies have repeatedly proven that over and over again and the better the mask, the better protection.”
Meyers also ripped into DeSantis’ phrase “COVID theater” questioning what that actually means.
“Are those plays where all the actors have to stand six feet apart?” he joked. “‘Just saw the COVID production of ‘Les Mis.’ The stage was the size of a football field.’”
But DeSantis wasn’t the only one who got the “Closer Look” treatment. As his segment came to a close, Meyers noted that Fox News’ Laura Ingraham agreed with DeSantis. He played a clip of her laughing over the Governor berating the young people.
“What kind of adult laughs at another adult yelling at a bunch of kids?” Meyers asked. “If you’ve ever seen an ’80s comedy, you know it’s the opposite. It’s funny when teens get the best of adults.”
Watch Meyers’ segment above.