Stephen Colbert joked on Monday's Late Show that he tuned in to 60 Minutes on Sunday night to watch the profile of up-and-coming NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo but also happened to catch Anderson Cooper's interview of Stormy Daniels. He wasn't alone, obviously, since Daniels opening up about her alleged affair with President Trump drew the highest ratings for 60 Minutes in a decade. "That means Stormy Daniels got higher ratings than Donald Trump did right after he was elected president," Colbert noted. "That's gotta sting."
Colbert briefly recapped the interview. "It's an insane, salacious tale about a sitting president — and the least surprising story I have ever heard," he said. Daniels' story about Trump "felt real, it felt true. It felt truer than him getting elected." And it was a little weird in parts, like her recollection of how spanking Trump with an issue of Forbes with Trump on the cover prompted Trump to make more appropriate conversation. "A couple of spanks and Donald Trump started acting more appropriate — John Kelly, you know what to do," Colbert joked. "It's for your country!"
He played a clip of Daniels suggesting she was underwhelmed by her physical affair with Trump, and Colbert was underwhelmed with the hackneyed mafia dialogue of the man who apparently threatened Daniels in a Vegas parking lot after she tried to sell the story to In Touch in 2011. Daniels' lawyer is promising more details about Trump's physical attributes, if needed, and Colbert showed, in some detail, that he did not need those details. Watch below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
September 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in ZürichThe Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
