Stephen Colbert pokes fun at Trump's 'master negotiator skills' on immigration and his Mexico wall

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

last updated 10 January 2018

President Trump held a meeting Tuesday with Democrats and Republicans on immigration, "mainly on our policy of not having immigrants," Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's Late Show, and "the stakes are high: If the two sides can't find a compromise, the federal government is going to shut down on Jan. 20 — or as historians call it, one year too late." Trump seemed bullish on reaching a bipartisan solution on immigration, but the price he laid out last week included an $18 billion down payment on his Mexico border wall.

Colbert noted that Trump insisted Mexico would pay for the wall, then laughed at Trump saying last weekend he still believes Mexico will pay for it "in some form"; Colbert suggested "free guac on your birthday" as a realistic possibility.

In Tuesday's meeting, it was clear both Republicans and Democrats want a path to citizenship for DREAMers, but Republicans want it paired with the wall and Democrats don't. "And for a brief, shining moment, the president agreed with the Democrats," Colbert said. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) talked Trump down, but he "showed his master negotiator skills" again by conceding that the wall needn't cover all 2,000 miles of the border. "We all remember the famous chant from the Trump campaign rallies," Colbert said: "Build the Wall! Unless the local terrain provides sufficient enough protection and can act as a natural wall proxy! MAGA!"

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The big news in the Russia investigation on Tuesday was the release of Senate testimony from the head of GPS Fusion on the Trump-Russia dossier. Republicans had blocked the released of the testimony, "but today, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said, 'F--k it, I'm 84, here it is.'" Special Counsel Robert Mueller is also known to be seeking an interview with Trump, and "that's not going to be easy to get," Colbert said. "That's why Mueller is currently going undercover at Fox & Friends." The photo is really something. 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.