Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel gamely feed Trump's IQ insecurity

Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel poke fun at Trump's IQ
(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/The Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live)

"It has been a rough start to the school year for Donald Trump," Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's Late Show. "His report card is definitely gonna say, 'Has problems working and playing well with others.'" Not that we can do much about, he shrugged. "The Oval Office doesn't have any corners, you can't put him in a time out." Trump's "open warfare" with the Republican Party started with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's attempt to prevent open warfare with North Korea, Colbert said, and it went downhill from there.

Tuesday's news is that Trump challenged Tillerson to an IQ duel. Colbert showed some exclusive results of that contest. But Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) has also tagged in with some "bowel-loosening opinions about our president," including that if Trump isn't "contained" by his aides, his tweets could lead us "toward World War III," Colbert said. "All this time we've been worried the next war would be caused by artificial intelligence. Turns out the real danger is natural stupidity. I'll miss us." Trump's aides and former employees reportedly treat him like a toddler, too, Colbert said, offering his own distraction for Trump.

Jimmy Kimmel also had a chuckle at Trump's proposed IQ battle. "No intelligent person would get into an IQ contest with his own secretary of state, right? Just that rules you out right there," he said. But "I would definitely order pay-per-view, I would pay $100 to watch Rex Tillerson and Donald Trump take IQ tests against each other, make no mistake. And I guarantee you, the next day Kellyanne Conway would be on TV explaining that IQ tests are like golf: the lower the number, the better the score." At least one person argues that Trump is smart, though, and Kimmel played the Trump highlight reel. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.