Stephen Colbert breaks out the chalkboard to decipher Donald Trump's dark conspiracy theories


The outpouring of love and charity in the wake of Sunday's terrible Orlando nightclub mass murder provides "some hope that in the end, fear and hatred won't win," Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's Late Show. "But, Donald Trump might." He took a hard look at Trump's Orlando speech on Monday, noting Trump's argument that his lack of political correctness makes him better able to fight terrorism. "Yes, Donald Trump refuses to be politically correct — and just to be safe, he refused to be correct," Colbert said.
"This whole speech — with its nativism, its fearmongering, and especially its self-aggrandizing in the face of tragedy — feels like a new low," Colbert said, before digressing with a short riff on Trump's genitals. "And here's the thing: Trump's speech, unbelievably, was the least controversial part of his reaction to Orlando." Trump's other public response was darkly insinuating that President Obama is a secret Muslim terrorist sympathizer — but he'll only drop hints, saying he'll let the people connect the dots. "You heard him: He's going to let people figure it out," Colbert said. "And since I'm a people, I thought I would take a stab at it." He brought out a chalkboard, Glenn Beck–style, and found some very specific, and quite rude, patterns in Trump's conspiracy theory keywords. It's mostly safe for work. Watch below. Peter Weber
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
-
Stunning beaches in Scotland
The Week Recommends Scenic spots that wouldn't look out of place in the Caribbean
-
Dash: the UK's 'flawed' domestic violence tool
The Explainer Risk-assessment checklist relied on by police and social services deemed unfit for frontline use
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in Zürich
The Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle