"On Saturday in Pittsburgh, at the Tree of Life synagogue, a mass shooter murdered 11 worshippers," in "the worst act of violence against Jewish people in U.S. history," Stephen Colbert said on Monday's Late Show. "It's tragic, it's sickening, and our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the larger Jewish community. But more than that, I want to say hate is not what America stands for. And tonight, all of us are with you." He highlighted some real-world examples of that support.
"Naturally, in times like these, our nation looks to its president for comfort and guidance," Colbert said. "That's our first mistake." He noted Trump first suggesting the synagogue should have had an armed guard, then Trump's factually incorrect reason for not canceling a rally hours later. "So Trump's instinct when addressing a tragedy was to lie about another tragedy," Colbert said. "I think lying about anything associated with 9/11 is a disqualifier for the presidency — or really, having any job." But Trump did joke about canceling the rally because of his "bad hair day," and Colbert had some thoughts.
"Of course the tragedy this weekend makes the serial bomber last week seem like a lighthearted story from the smile file," Colbert said. So he cracked some jokes about the accused package bomber, Cesar Sayoc, like: "Living out of his van? My God, he's the most successful DJ I know." But were these attacks actually inspired by Trump's "racist fearmongering" and attacks on press and other "enemies"? Colbert asked. He played, then slammed, the White House's denial and Trump's feckless blame-shifting. For example, he deadpanned, "there's no way to know for sure if Sayoc was a fan of President Trump — unless you see him at a Trump rally, or posing in a MAGA hat in front of Trump's bus, or check out his van, which features the world's most MAGA-tastic fan art collage." Watch below. Peter Weber
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