Stephen Colbert weighs U.S. diplomat William Taylor's Ukraine testimony against Trump, finds it damning

Stephen Colbert on Trump and impeachment

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

published 23 October 2019

"It is important, I believe, to admit when you're wrong," Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's Late Show. "We talk a lot about how Donald Trump is this corrupt guy who deserves to be dragged out of his office, kicking and screaming, but when I'm wrong... I'll be sure to let you know. Not tonight. Because we just learned this afternoon he's just awful!"

The source of this knowledge was William Taylor, the top diplomat in Ukraine, who told House impeachment investigators that U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland told him Trump would not release security aid to Ukraine until Ukraine's president publicly declared he was investigating the Bidens and Democrats in the 2016 election. "Do you understand what this means!?" Colbert asked. "We finally have solid evidence of the crime that Trump and his chief of staff have already confessed to committing on camera!"

It turns out, "holding up military aid for political gain seemed kind of fishy to Taylor," but Sondland tried to assuage his fears by explaining that Trump is a businessman, and businessmen want people "to pay up before signing the check," Colbert read, laughing at the idea that Trump paid anybody for services rendered when he was a businessman. "Last night, to defend himself, Trump went to his safe space, Fox News," where he routinely called his phone call with Ukraine's president "a letter," he added. And Trump was right that "they don't mention the letter anymore, because it's not a letter, it's a phone call. But if Pelosi wants to impeach you over this, I say let her." Watch below. Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

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.