Stephen Colbert finds the lighter side of Rex Tillerson's rumored termination

Stephen Colbert bids Rex Tillerson adieu

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

Unhappy Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's "long nightmare of national service may soon be over," thanks to President Trump's reported plan to force him out of office, Stephen Colbert said on Thursday's Late Show. "It's a complicated plan that involves telling him he can go, and then plastering over the Rex-shaped hole in his office wall." Tillerson was always an odd choice for secretary of state, given his lack of experience with diplomacy, "though he wasn't afraid to stand up to some of the world's most dangerously unhinged leaders — he even called one of them a 'moron,'" Colbert said. "I gotta say, it's refreshing to hear about a powerful man fired for something other than flashing his junk."

"Meanwhile, the Trump administration is veering dangerously close to accomplishment," passing the GOP tax bill, Colbert noted. Sure, it would leave people earning $40,000 to $50,000 a year paying a combined $5.3 billion more in taxes and cut the taxes of millionaires by $5.8 billion, he said, "but don't worry, that $5.8 billion will trickle down — to the rich when they throw their money in the air and dance underneath it in joy." Trump alone could save more than $1 billion under the plan, which has, among other provisions, cuts for people who own golf courses and private planes. "Wow, with that kind of cash, he could finally quit that dead-end government job," Colbert said, hopefully.

NBC's Matt Lauer, fired on Wednesday for flashing his junk and other alleged sexual misdeeds, has one brave defender, Colbert noted. Though he found some fault with Geraldo Rivera's "news is a flirty business" and "criminalizing courtship" defense, he had some special fun with the "courtship" analogy. 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.