Stephen Colbert is surprised at Trump's bold new kill-ObamaCare gambit

President Trump's Justice Department signaled Monday night that it wants the federal courts to strike down all of ObamaCare — a decision reportedly made by the White House, over the objections of the attorney general and the Health and Human Services secretary. "Yes, now that he's free of the Mueller investigation, Trump can focus on his enemies: the living," Stephen Colbert quipped on Tuesday's Late Show. "The GOP has been trying to kill ObamaCare over and over, but it keeps coming back. It's like Freddy Krueger, if instead of killing you, he entered your dreams to to perform an emergency appendectomy."

"This is a crazy move going into an election year, because people really love many parts of the Affordable Care Act," including the protections for people with pre-existing conditions, favored by 90 percent of Americans, Colbert said. "This is particularly problematic for Donald Trump, who suffers from the pre-existing condition of previously pretending to care about it."

Republicans "have talked about 'repeal and replace' for years now, Trump specifically, but Trump has never announced a plan to replace ObamaCare with anything," Colbert added. "So get ready for the Republican Party's new health-care mascot, Deathy the Friendly Tombstone. ... Trump has to feel very certain about his base to yank away their health care right before an election," he mused. "It explains all those new yard signs: 'If I were still alive, I'd vote for Trump.'" Watch below. Peter Weber

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