"Over the weekend, sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell," Stephen Colbert said on Monday's Late Show. "Now apparently, he — they say, and I guess they would know, though they can't say how — committed suicide. Which is surprising, because three weeks ago, he was found unconscious with marks on his neck — how the marks got there, authorities did not share with the public — and yet Epstein was left alone and not closely monitored. Now, maybe he was just in one of those prisons that really value inmate privacy. Then again, Epstein knew a lot of powerful and important people. ... A who's who of 'Who's Jeffrey Epstein? I've never met Jeffrey Epstein!'"
Given his alleged crimes and powerful friends — including President Trump and former President Bill Clinton — Epstein's death "has set off a wild wave of conspiracy theories online, the sort of stuff that only unstable tinfoil-hat loons could possibly believe — so Donald Trump," Colbert said. He did not subscribe to the conspiracy theory Trump boosted. "Really? Really? That's your theory? I'm not saying that the Clintons don't have any power — they could definitely get a reservation at any restaurant in New York City; party of four, 7 o'clock on a Saturday, maybe not — but masterminding a scheme to assassinate a high-profile prisoner in maximum-security federal custody? They couldn't even mastermind a visit to Wisconsin."
Still, Trump clearly thinks this "dangerous and completely unfounded murder conspiracy theory about his predecessor" is "the only logical answer," Colbert sighed, following Trump down his "rabbit hole" to — well, a different, only slightly more logical answer. He ended with Trump's very Trump-centric visit to El Paso and Dayton last week, his reported fury at not getting accolades for his visit, his trouble finding patients willing to meet with him, and his single, often unfortunate pose for photos, be it a baby orphaned by a mass shooter, a dictator, or a taco bowl. Watch below. Peter Weber
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