Stephen Colbert agrees with Trump that his presidency has been 'like a poorly written novel'


Stephen Colbert joked on Monday's Late Show that he considered not returning from last week's vacation "because, uh, everything," but he didn't want to miss new National Security Adviser John Bolton's first day of work.
Colbert then turned to the latest developments in the Stormy Daniels saga, joking that "future generations will learn all about it in the Trump Presidential Library's adult section." But the payoff to Daniels by Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen landed in the news Monday with an FBI raid on Cohen's office and home. Raiding a lawyer's office is tricky, given attorney-client privilege, so the Justice Department sends out a team of lawyers to review material before prosecutors can look at it. Colbert had a good, mostly family-friendly laugh at the name of these teams.
"'Taint team' — gotta take that to a taint team, because it t'ain't ethical and it t'ain't legal," he joked. "By the way, fun fact: Taint Team, one of Stormy Daniels' best movies." Still, Colbert added, "all hope isn't lost for Michael Cohen — I'm sure the FBI will keep this whole thing quiet for $130,000."
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.
"Meanwhile, the chaos continues at the White House," Colbert said, starting with the apparent "imminent firing" of Chief of Staff John Kelly. Trump took to Twitter over the weekend to accuse The Washington Post of lying about a verbal brawl he reportedly had with Kelly, saying the Post's reporting is "like a poorly written novel." Colbert agreed: "Just look at the lurid, unbelievable fantasy novel the Post has been reporting for the last year and a half: Reality TV host becomes president with the help of an evil cabal of Facebook and Russians while he's sued by the porn star he had sex with? It's all in John Le Carré's classic novel, Tinkle, Traitor, Stormy, Spy." Watch below. Peter Weber
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed 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 ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed 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 view
Speed 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 talk
Speed 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 Zürich
The Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle