Stephen Colbert discovers that Trump is literally 'at war with Reality' in the Russia investigation

Stephen Colbert kicked off Tuesday's Late Show with some congratulations for new parents George and Amal Clooney, then turned to the "slightly less important news" about Russian hackers trying to penetrate voter roll databases days before November's election, according to a leaked NSA memo that was all but confirmed by a U.S. senator. "This is how democracy ends, with a fake email sent to the ancient cat lady manning the polling station at your high school gym," Colbert said. "So, who really knows who won Nov. 8 now — I mean, other than Vladimir Putin. Now I'm a little rusty on my Constitution, but I guess that means: new election?" Colbert's audience liked the idea, though constitutional scholars probably won't.

We know the NSA document is not "fake news" because the leaker was immediately arrested, Colbert said. "The leaker's name, and this is true: Reality Winner. So it's official: The Trump administration is at war with Reality." She was apparently caught because the document she leaked was creased, and the NSA tracked down the printer she used based on nearly invisible dots. "Wow, you can trace any document based on the printer," Colbert marveled. "It's like NCIS meets Dilbert."

So the evidence that Russia tampered in the U.S. election is getting pretty strong, but at least one person isn't buying it (mostly): Russian President Vladimir Putin. Colbert played part of Putin's interview with Megyn Kelly, where Putin says maybe U.S. intelligence killed JFK, so they could also have framed Russia. "Nice try, Vlad, but I will not stand by while you try to confuse the American people with bulls—t conspiracy theories," Colbert said, wagging his finger. "That is Donald Trump's job." He ended by explaining how Reince Priebus keeps his job. Watch below. Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up