Stephen Colbert deftly deflates Trump's State of the Union braggadocio
On Thursday, President Trump boasted of record viewership for his first State of the Union address, and Stephen Colbert found two problems with that claim. "First, that's not true," he said on Thursday's Late Show. "Second, it's a lie." In fact, Trump drew historically low numbers. "Look, it doesn't matter how many people watched — but what does matter is that the president needs to lie about it, and then somehow get away with it," Colbert said. "This is the new world we live in. So let me say right now in advance, congratulations to President Trump on winning the Super Bowl. Well-played! So good. Also, you make a great Black Panther."
Trump continued basking in his State of the Union when addressing Republican lawmakers on Thursday, Colbert said, and the president chided Democrats for not clapping when he bragged about historically low black and Hispanic unemployment. "Yeah, you'd think the Democrats would applaud, since that's all because of Obama," Colbert said. And when Trump was curiously effusive about his first year? "I hesitate to drag logic kicking and screaming into this conversation, but you can't fulfill more promises than you promised," he said. "That's just taking credit for stuff that happened." Colbert commented his way through other parts of the speech, landing on a Black History Month jab.
Trump may have inflated his State of the Union ratings, but the Late Show White House press secretary had an explanation for why Trump wasn't wrong. 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.
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