Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel try to guess which Trump official burned him in that 'scorching' Times op-ed


The "alarming flavor crystals" in Bob Woodward's new White House chronicle, Fear, have refreshed that "tang of panic in the back of our throats when we remember that a former reality show star and unindicted co-conspirator is the commander in chief," Stephen Colbert said on Wednesday's Late Show. Fear documents how "Trump's Cabinet has gone to extreme lengths to protect the country from his bad decisions," Colbert said, and while Trump calls the book pure fiction, an anonymous New York Times op-ed by a senior administration official on Wednesday begs to differ.
The op-ed "is written by someone who works for the administration, believes in its policies and goals, and still thinks the president is a dangerous idiot," Colbert said. "How many people could there be like that in the White House? I'm going to guess, count the people in the White House and subtract one." White House "staff has been defending Trump from Woodward's book all day," he added, "but now someone inside — maybe one of those same people — has found the courage to stand up and say, 'Nope, it's all true! P.S. Hide my name from the bad orange man.'"
Jimmy Kimmel read extended excerpts of the "scorching" op-ed on Wednesday's Kimmel Live. "That is really remarkable, and I have to say, I'm surprised by how good a writer Ivanka is," he joked. The "most interesting theory" on who actually wrote the op-ed points to Vice President Mike Pence, based on the word "lodestar," he explained. "This is going to drive Trump absolutely nuts. Can you imagine what it must be like to have a job at which almost everybody who works for you thinks you're a complete idiot? I can, and I'll tell you something: It's no fun at all." He had some thoughts, too, on the lightning that struck the White House on Tuesday, and you can watch that 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.
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.
-
September 7 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include stressing about Powerball, and a busy FBI schedule
-
Nvidia: unstoppable force, or powering down?
Talking Point Sales of firm's AI-powering chips have surged above market expectations –but China is the elephant in the room
-
5 hard-working cartoons about Labor Day celebrations
Cartoons Artists take on creation of AI, spelling mistakes, and more
-
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