Stephen Colbert and 'God' discuss Trump's religious liberty executive order. Neither's a fan.

Stephen Colbert talks with &quot;God&quot; — (Image credit: Late Show)

President Trump returned to New York City on Thursday night for the first time in his presidency. "The Big Apple got a visit from the Huge Orange," Stephen Colbert said on Thursday's Late Show, singing a line of "New York, New York" — "Start spreading fake news..." Trump was attending a gala at the USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier turned museum. "The Intrepid is permanently docked in the mud at 44th Street," Colbert noted, "or as Trump would say, 'It is heading to North Korea as I speak.'"

Before heading to New York, though, Trump signed yet another executive order, this one about "religious liberty." One of the provisions orders the IRS to steer clear of investigating churches for endorsing or opposing political candidates. "A lot of people are upset because they're afraid religion is going to have too much influence on politics, but I go to church, and here's the thing: I'm afraid it's going to get politics all over my religion," Colbert said. "We don't want our churches to end up like Congress, with all the Democrats sitting on one side of the pews and all the Republicans sitting on the other — somebody's going to filibuster the Our Father, and it will be broadcast on the Holy See-SPAN. But maybe I'm wrong, maybe God wants it this way."

"God" appeared on the ceiling and assured Colbert he doesn't like politics, or even really understand it ("I mean, I was sure it was going to be Jeb — Jeb!") "So then how do you feel about Trump's executive order?" Colbert asked. "I'm not a big fan of executive orders — they don't work," God said. "I tried 10 of them once, and everyone's still coveting their neighbor's wife and taking my name in vain." Colbert asked about God's political affiliation, and you can watch the answer below. Peter Weber

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

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.