Stephen Colbert catches an odd moment in Trump's women's empowerment speech

Stephen Colbert has theories about Trump and baseball

(Image credit: Late Show)

published 30 March 2017

Stephen Colbert Rickrolled his audience on Wednesday's Late Show, after reminding everyone about House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes' cut-rate James Bond act, with the added twist that he will never give up his source. "I agree with the Democrats," Colbert said, after doing a credible Rick Astley dance. "He really should Rick-cuse himself."

Then he got down to the business of talking about President Trump, starting with the news that Trump turned down an invitation to throw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals' opening day. "I don't know why," Colbert said. "Maybe he's worried his hands are too small to palm a baseball — he'll have to chest-pass it." Colbert noted that every president since Taft (except Jimmy Carter) has thrown the first pitch on opening day. "That means FDR did it," he said. "Let that sink in." Colbert showed a clip of Trump singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," off-key but with spirit, and unkindly suggested it might be "the tape Putin is blackmailing him with."

This, of course, isn't Trump's only claim to being a different kind of president, Colbert said. "Trump won't throw out the first pitch. What else? He won't go to the correspondents' dinner, he won't release his tax returns, he won't put his businesses in a blind trust, he doesn't want to live in D.C. What presidential tradition will Trump abandon next? This Thanksgiving, those turkeys better run."

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Colbert ended by noting that Trump attended and gave the keynote speech at a women's empowerment forum on Wednesday, with all the obvious jokes — including an audio-video switcheroo on Trump's speech. "Wow, what an unforeseen technical blunder... that our editing department spent an hour making this afternoon," he joked. "I am so, so sorry." Colbert did show part of Trump's real speech, where the president winkingly suggested that women have larger brains than men. Colbert winked back: "Yeah, women are just so much smarter than men — I don't know why we didn't elect one president!" 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.