Stephen Colbert recaps Trump's handsy, 'epically weird' CPAC speech
"Last week was so great, because I'm not Donald Trump," Stephen Colbert said on Monday's Late Show, following a week-long hiatus. Near the end of his vacation, Colbert started taking "sips" of the news to ease his re-entry, he said, "and the first indication I had that the orange man was feeling blue was Saturday," when President Trump "had this historically long and epically weird speech he gave at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or DBAG."
"The crazy started right off the bean, before Trump even started talking," Colbert said, showing the clip of Trump "dry-humping Old Glory. I believe that is the first time a flag has ever volunteered to be burned. ... The whole flag-hugging thing went over big in the room, except with Don Jr., who shouted: 'I hate the new baby! Take it back.' Then Trump began speaking, and speaking, and speaking. He talked for two hours and two minutes, making it the longest presidential oration in American history — which is impressive, because some of Obama's pauses were almost an hour."
In the speech, Trump called Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation "bulls--t" and pretended he was being sarcastic when he asked Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's emails in June 2016. "I thought I had a bad Trump impression — you don't sound like you at all," Colbert told Trump, dishing out some pointers.
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.
Also, "you weren't joking — in fact, you were even asked about it." Colbert showed the evidence. "Okay, that's pretty damning video — that's why it's part of the new collection 'Donald Trump's Campaign Bloopers and Practical Treason,'" he joked. "Trump also did something presidents rarely do: spontaneous product endorsement," in this case for a 20-year-old product. 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.
-
Gopichand Hinduja and the UK's richest familyIn The Spotlight Following the death of the patriarch, the family’s ‘Succession-like’ feuds are ‘likely to get worse’
-
The future of the Paris AgreementThe Explainer UN secretary general warns it is ‘inevitable’ the world will overshoot 1.5C target, but there is still time to change course
-
A scenic road trip in the French RivieraThe Week Recommends The mild climate of the Côte d’Azur makes it ideal for shoulder season
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
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
