In case you needed any proof that the 2016 election is rigged, Stephen Colbert said at the top of his live post-debate Late Show, the evidence was written right above Hillary Clinton's right shoulder on the debate stage. The "definitive moment of the evening, of the election, of the American experiment," he said, is when Donald Trump refused to say if he would accept the results of the election, and he'll keep America "in suspense." "Oh, suspense," Colbert said. "Democracy's gonna end with a cliffhanger!" He was not pleased with Trump's refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and he said so in no uncertain terms. As for his feelings about the rest of the debate, Colbert said, he'll leave us in suspense.
Well, not too much suspense. "I was surprised Trump agreed to debate in Vegas, especially at the University of Nevada, because he hasn't had a lot of luck with casinos or universities," Colbert joked. He did level a little mockery at Hillary Clinton — she came dressed as "Star Trek Deep Space Pope," for example — but mostly he talked about Trump, who really needed Clinton to mess up bigly: "You know, like mispronounce the word 'America' or shoot Sully Sullenberger in the face or something like that." She didn't do that.
Colbert covered immigration, had a weird moment with puppets which he claimed was still "less juvenile than the debate," mocked Trump's Emmy envy by showing two of his own, raised an eyebrow at Trump's response to the sexual harassment allegations, and talked about other low- and highlights. "Trump did do a decent job of holding his baser instincts in check, but at the end, he let his Trump flag fly when Hillary talked about tax reform," he said, cueing up Trump's "she's so nasty" jab. "So nasty — also, quick reminder, no one respects women more than me," Colbert said, in his Trump voice. He ended with a line from moderator Chris Wallace that "described Trump's whole campaign," and you can watch below. Peter Weber
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