Stephen Colbert cringes at Trump's Prayer Breakfast insult, laughs at Schwarzenegger's comeback burn

Stephen Colbert puts Donald Trump &quot;on notice&quot; — (Image credit: Late Show)

You probably already know that President Trump tried out a sick burn on actor Arnold Schwarzenegger at Thursday morning's National Prayer Breakfast, but Stephen Colbert wants to make sure you saw Arnold's comeback. Colbert started at the beginning: "The National Prayer Breakfast has been around since Eisenhower, right? It's a solemn occasion, and it's always an opportunity for presidents to bring people of all faiths together and solemnly share what is most sacred to them." He played the clip and reacted appropriately.

"You heard that correctly — your ears did not deceive you," Colbert said. "The president used the National Prayer Breakfast to insult Arnold Schwarzenegger. I hear tomorrow he's going to roast Rosie O'Donnell at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier." But less than an hour later, Arnold hit back. Bandleader Jon Batiste gasped at the short retort, and Colbert snapped: "Oh, damn! Is this the War of 1812? 'Cause the White House just got burnt."

In the second part of the monologue, Colbert settled his own beef with Trump, tied to Trump's tweet-threat putting Iran "ON NOTICE" over a missile test. "On notice — do you know what that means? Because no one knows what that means," Colbert said. Some analysts are calling it a "red line," leading to a dangerous confrontation, but Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, said the phrase did not connote any military or diplomatic action. "So when we say 'on notice,' I think we just mean: We noticed," Colbert said. "Do you know what I noticed? I noticed that Trump keeps stealing from me."

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After going through the many similarities between Trump and Colbert's old Colbert Report character, Colbert took retribution. "So, for stealing my old act, I am putting Donald Trump on notice." He brought out the old "On Notice Board" from the Colbert Report days, and did his thing. "Boom! How's that feel?" Colbert asked. "Do you have any, any understanding of the effect that just had? Exactly the same amount of effect as you putting Iran on notice: zero." Watch below. Peter Weber

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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.