The mainstream media's criticism of President Donald Trump has been fierce in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. On Sunday, that criticism reached a fever pitch when a CNN host compared Trump to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

In a lengthy monologue on his CNN show, Fareed Zakaria blasted Trump's response to the coronavirus outbreak, partially blamed the president for the economic downturn, and claimed the pandemic "seems to have been designed to bring out the worst of Trump."

"The president doesn't like or trust experts, often explaining that he knows more than they do. He has bluffed and fibbed his way through much of his life and thinks nothing of doing so again," Zakaria said.

"In most global crises, the United States takes the lead and provides comfort and assurances to the world. In this one, Trump has been mostly AWOL," he continued. "When he does appear, it is to blame the disease on foreigners and announce policies that are designed to reinforce that view. The broad collapse in global markets is surely, in part, a reaction to the vast vacuum of leadership in the White House."

Zakaria went on to claim that Trump has been "emulating" Kim Jong Un.

"Donald Trump views everything from the narcissistic prism of his ego," Zakaria said. "He dismisses opposing views and insists that even the senior-most members of his administration repeatedly praise him and his leadership at all times."

"Watching the heads of America's leading science agencies prefacing their statements with ritual praise for the dear leader has been deeply depressing," he continued.

"Come to think of it, the Trump administration has been copying the wrong Korea. Instead of the intelligence and expertise of South Korea, it is emulating the sycophancy, incompetence, and propaganda of North Korea," Zakaria said.

Zakaria's comparison of Trump to the North Korean dictator was prefaced with a comparison between the response of the U.S. and South Korea to the coronavirus. While the U.S. has tested relatively few people — more than 10,000, but less than 20,000 — South Korea is testing tens of thousands of its citizens per day.