Seth Meyers didn’t mince words when it came to his feelings about Ron DeSantis’ “especially cruel and sadistic stunt” of lying “to a group of undocumented migrants to lure them onto a plane,” which dropped them off on the mostly abandoned island of Martha’s Vineyard. While it’s easy to picture DeSantis (who Trevor Noah declared “Earth’s biggest dick”) snickering like a cartoon villain at his own repulsive — and some say illegal — antics, Meyers wasn’t amused.
On Monday night, the Late Night host dedicated a large portion of his “A Closer Look” segment to the Florida governor’s very public display of human trafficking. The way Meyers sees it, using immigration as a “scare tactic” in an election year is already a tried-and-true part of the Republican playbook (though noted historian/documentarian Ken Burns likened the governor to Hitler). As a result, says Meyers, “everyone is onto them. Which is now why they’re trying to out-MAGA themselves with increasingly ghoulish and despicable acts of cruelty toward migrants fleeing poverty and violence.”
Case in point: DeSantis, who last week decided that it would be a total riot if he used a ton of taxpayer money earmarked to fight COVID and used it to send 48 undocumented Venezuelan migrants, including young children and some elderly individuals, from San Antonio (which is NOT in Florida) to Martha’s Vineyard, in an attempt to apparently stick it to residents of the wealthy island, which is basically abandoned following Labor Day. Meyers had a lot to say about the governor’s “grotesque scheme,” which he believes was “designed entirely to curry favor with Fox News, who he apparently alerted beforehand.” As Meyers explained:
You see, they thought the people who live on Martha’s Vineyard would freak out. Instead, residents and community organizations scrambled — without any notice — to provide aid and comfort to the migrants…
So congrats, Florida. You just spent a bunch of taxpayer money on a stupid and repulsive stunt that achieved nothing except maybe some publicity for Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential bid. And worse than that, you gave the rich liberals who summer on Martha’s Vineyard another thing to feel self-righteous about.
Meyers also pointed out that “most of the liberals you hate left the Vineyard two weeks ago.” And he should know, as he is one of them!
Which is why he noted that “it’s important to make a distinction between the people who spend their summers on the island and people who live there year-round, like the hardworking staff at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, who rose to the occasion with grace and empathy.” It’s also worth taking a deep look into your own soul when Donald Trump is complaining that you stole his idea.
You can watch the full segment above, beginning around the 5:55 mark.
