Chris Rock Slams Pelosi, top Democrats for Letting Pandemic Spread

Comedian Chris Rock criticized the Democratic party for allowing COVID-19 to spread to the United States by being too narrowly focused on trying to impeach the President. 

In a sit down with the New York Times, Rock blamed Pelosi’s dogged quest to remove Trump from office, for allowing the pandemic to cross into American borders.  

“It was totally up to Pelosi and the Democrats,” he said. “Their thing was, “We’re going to get him impeached,” which was never going to happen. You let the pandemic come in.”

Rock compared President Trump to the inept 5-year-old emperor of China depicted in the 1987 film The Last Emperor, and likened Democrats to the movie’s adults who were actually in charge of guiding the country.

“There’s a kid and he’s the king. So I’m like, it’s all the Democrats’ fault. Because you knew that the emperor was 5 years old.” And when the emperor’s 5 years old, they only lead in theory. There’s usually an adult who’s like, “OK, this is what we’re really going to do.” 

He also accused both political parties of lying to the public. “Republicans tell outright lies. Democrats leave out key pieces of the truth that would lead to a more nuanced argument. In a sense, it’s all fake news.”

He referred to the country’s current civil unrest as “the second great civil rights movement,” commenting that the original movement did not address economic disparity, which was a glaring oversight. “Dr. King and those guys were amazing. But they knew nothing about money. They didn’t ask for anything.”

Rock has not gotten involved with the protests personally, citing the coronavirus pandemic as his reason for standing back. “We’re in the middle of a pandemic, man, and I know people who have absolutely passed from it. I’m like, dude, this Covid thing is real.”

He also addressed late night host Jimmy Fallon’s blackface clip from a twenty-year-old episode of Saturday Night Live. “I don’t think Jimmy Fallon intended to hurt me. And he didn’t.”

But sidestepped a question about the push to remove blackface from old films and TV shows. “If I say they are, then I’m the worst guy in the world. There’s literally one answer that ends my whole career. Blackface ain’t cool, OK? That’s my quote.”

Marie Finn