Donald Trump’s Totally Normal Coronavirus Reaction: “I Haven’t Touched My Face in Weeks. I Miss It!”

(Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

In a meeting with airline CEOs and coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx, Donald Trump let everyone know how much better he is at coronavirusing than the rest of us.

After discussing what airlines are doing to protect passengers and what passengers can do to protect themselves (seriously, wash your hands!), Trump chimed in to tell the room, “I haven’t touched my face in weeks,” adding “I miss it!”

He was, obviously, joking. (And it is legitimately hard to avoid touching your face.) But it’s still a weird time to try to get a laugh. 11 people in the US have died from COVID-19, with at least 149 known cases across 13 states, and Trump and his administration seem determined to screw up their response to the epidemic at every turn.

On top of that, many people were quick to point out that his statement wasn’t even accurate. Not that jokes have to be 100% factual but come on:

By the way, someone should pass that advice on to Mike Pence, Trump’s appointed head of the coronavirus task force. This is from the same task force meeting as that picture of Trump:

Embed from Getty Images

We’re so f***ed.

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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