During the latest episode of 'Weekend Update' on Saturday Night Live, host Colin Jost took aim at Donald Trump's recent comments about a hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship. The outbreak has resulted in three deaths and several illnesses among passengers.
Background on the Outbreak
Officials have been working to track down and monitor individuals who disembarked the ship and may have been exposed to hantavirus before the outbreak was detected. While human-to-human transmission is rare, the World Health Organization has assessed the global risk as low.
Jost began by saying, '[That] sounds scary, but let the president calm your fears,' before playing a clip of Trump speaking to reporters on Thursday. When asked if he had been briefed on the virus, Trump responded, 'You're going to be told everything, and you already have' about the recent outbreak, adding, 'It's very much, we hope, under control.'
Jost's Reaction
Jost reacted to the clip with sarcasm: 'Oh, my God, that's — that's such great news. But why does that sound familiar?' He then played a clip from January 2020, in which Trump told CNBC's Joe Kernen that the United States had the coronavirus 'totally under control.' In that clip, Trump said, 'It's one person coming in from China. We have it under control. It's going to be just fine.'
Jost quipped, 'And it was,' before flashing two thumbs up with a smile. The segment highlighted the irony of Trump's repeated use of the phrase 'under control' in the context of emerging health threats.
Watch more from 'Weekend Update' in the clips below.
