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Jimmy Fallon mocks Trump’s ‘trainwreck’ interview on coronavirus, Ghislaine Maxwell, and more

President refused to discuss coronavirus death rate during conversation with journalist Jonathan Swan 

Clémence Michallon
New York City
Wednesday 05 August 2020 15:35 BST
Jimmy Fallon mocks Trump's interview with Jonathan Swan

Jimmy Fallon has taken aim at an interview given by Donald Trump to Axios journalist Jonathan Swan, mocking the president’s behaviour during the “trainwreck” exchange.

Fallon roasted Trump on Tuesday’s instalment of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The interview aired on Monday and has been a topic of discussion since then. During the chat, Trump notably refused to discuss the US coronavirus death rate, once again wished Gishlaine Maxwell “well”, and dismissed the legacy of civil rights leader John Lewis.

In his segment about the interview, Fallon joked that HBO, which aired the conversation, should have included a warning against “adult content”, “child language”, and “brief stupidity”.

A clip played of Trump stating, about those who have died of coronavirus in the US: “They are dying, it’s true, and it is what it is.”

“It is what it is?” Fallon asked. “You’re the president of the United States. You’re not Paulie Walnuts delivering bad news to Tony Soprano.

“...At funerals, when everyone says, ‘My condolences’, Trump’s like, ‘It is what it is. Where are the refreshments?’”

Fallon then reflected on Trump’s use of printed charts during the interview, comparing him to “every dad looking at Ikea instructions”.

After playing a video of Trump insisting he wishes Maxwell well, the late-night host mused: “For a guy who owns a bunch of casinos, you’d think he’d know when to stop doubling down.”

The segment then cut into a skit with Fallon impersonating the president and giving his own answers to Swan's questions.

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