Stephen Colbert pokes fun at Donald Trump's total lack of newspaper endorsements, with a little help


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Stephen Colbert noted on Tuesday's live Late Show that USA Today has, for the first time in its history, weighed in on a presidential race, saying in an editorial that Donald Trump is "unfit for the presidency" and explaining why. Colbert bungled the punchline — "Melissa, I want to thank you for being here for my last show," he joked to Melissa Etheridge, sitting in with the house band — then tried again: "If Trump wins, USA Today believes there's no USA tomorrow."
USA Today did not endorse Hillary Clinton — they just pleaded for voters not to pick Donald Trump — but Clinton has become the first Democrat ever endorsed by several Republican-friendly newspapers. "Meanwhile, Donald Trump has earned zero presidential endorsements from America's 50 biggest newspapers," Colbert said. "That is shocking — there are still 50 newspapers? But my crack research team did find one newspaper that has endorsed Donald Trump." Don't get too excited — it was the circular for the made-up Oinkily Boinkily supermarket in fictional Gangrene, Wisconsin. Paul F. Tompkins, playing the editor of the circular, used the occasion to promote a lot of food sales, and when Colbert asked him if he had endorsed Trump just to sell stuff, "Carl" explained why he didn't pick Clinton: "Well, I don't know. There's just something about a Trump presidency that makes people want to stock up on canned goods." That could have gone so many ways. Watch below. Peter Weber
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Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.
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