Stephen Colbert sticks up for Trump's 'shithole countries'

Stephen Colbert slams Trump for vulgar remarks
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

"All week long, President Trump has tried desperately to convince us that he is a stable, steady leader," Stephen Colbert said on Thursday's Late Show. "It was a nice act, but like many men his age, he can only keep it up for so long. Today he returned to the same unstable, reactionary president we've come to know and... know." He began with Trump's vulgar comments about Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations. "Sir, they're not 'shithole countries,'" Colbert said. "For one, Donald Trump isn't their president."

"But that wasn't the only packet of international crazy sauce he squirted out today," Colbert noted, mentioning Trump's statement that he "probably" has "a very good relationship" with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. "Probably? That is definitely terrifying," he said. "How do you not know if you have a relationship with someone?" Trump also claimed he knows "more about wedges than any human being that's lived," and Colbert found that plausible "Oh sir, you are a wedge," he said, pausing, "the simplest of tools."

Colbert also noted Trump's odd Twitter flip-flop on FISA, with a two-hour break between his break from his own position and his follow-up clarification, which ends, "Get smart!" "We need to get smart?" Colbert asked. "You're the only one live-tweeting a debate with yourself that you're losing!"

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Colbert pointed to Trump's press conference with Norway's prime minister — in which Trump touted the sale of F-52 fighter jets, an "aircraft does not actually exist," he noted. "That's how good our stealth technology has gotten. We're making planes even we can't see." Trump also said he didn't think he would need to speak with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. "Yeah, why would Mueller want to interview Trump in an investigation about Trump?" Colbert asked. "I mean, watch any cop show: 'Excuse me, sir, the lab found blood stains in your car. I have zero questions, you're free to go.'" Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

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.