Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel have retaliated after Donald Trump took time away from the coronavirus crisis to attack them on Twitter.
On Tuesday afternoon (5 May), the president tweeted about Fox News host Greg Gutfeld, writing: “His Ratings easily beat no talent Stephen Colbert, nice guy Jimmy Fallon, and wacko “last placer” Jimmy Kimmel. Greg built his show from scratch, and did a great job in doing so. “
Trump’s tweet came in the wake of reports that the US daily coronavirus death toll is projected to double to 3,000 by June. The president has been proclaiming success in America’s fight against the virus in recent days and has been pushing for the US economy to reopen.
In response to Trump’s post, Kimmel tweeted: “Happy Cinco de Mayo Mr President! Thanks for the shout-out – now get back to work royally f***ing everything up!”
In his latest show, Kimmel added: “I think what he meant to tweet was, ‘I am completely devastated by the loss of life caused by this insidious virus. My thoughts are with the families of those who have passed.
“I pledge to spend every waking moment working to make sure our medical workers have the support they need and every American has access to tests. P.S. Congrats to Greg Gutfeld!’”
Colbert, meanwhile, said: “It’s nice to know that Trump is staying laser-focused on the ball during a crisis. I can’t speak for Seth. He’s very talented. But I am an idiot.
"The only reason I have this job is because I married the daughter of Donald CBS and for some reason, he keeps putting me in charge of everything.”
