Stephen Colbert laughs at Trump fumbling his greatest hits at 1st post-insurrection MAGA rally
The Pacific Northwest is sweltering in a record-shattering heatwave, and The Late Show briefly rebooted Frasier on Monday to check in on how Seattle is holding up.
"It's so bad in Seattle, everyone is down to their flannel speedos," Stephen Colbert joked in his Late Show monologue. "Speaking of hot air," former President Donald Trump held a big rally over the weekend in Wellington, Ohio — his first since the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. "With nearly six months to prepare, the former president had plenty of time to work on fresh material," he said, but he mostly dragged out his greatest MAGA hits. "The Snake," election theft, the crying guy "Lock Her Up," hydroxychloroquine — "this really seems like you're just reading a speech from last summer," Colbert said. "But he did delight the crowd with one of his patented 'I smell toast' moments," then "continued fumbling, flailing, and failing to remember" words and names in a way Colbert and his audience found pretty amusing.
"The sad thing is the people at that rally believe the old guy's election lies, but do you know who doesn't?" Colbert asked. "People who know things," like "disgraced" former Attorney General Bill Barr, who told ABC News' Jonathan Karl he always knew Trump's fraud claims were "bulls--t." Barr also said Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged him to speak out about the election in December, as he couldn't publicly tell the truth himself because Republicans needed Trump's help to win Georgia's two Senate elections — which Democrats won. "In the end, Mitch McConnell sold his soul for nothing," Colbert said. "So, a pretty fair price."
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.
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.
-
Will the public buy Rachel Reeves’ tax rises?Today’s Big Question The Chancellor refused to rule out tax increases in her televised address, and is set to reverse pledges made in the election manifesto
-
Margaret Atwood’s ‘deliciously naughty’ memoirIn the Spotlight ‘Bean-spilling’ book by The Handmaid’s Tale author is ‘immensely readable’
-
Being a school crossing guard has become a deadly jobUnder the Radar At least 230 crossing guards have been hit by cars over the last decade
-
How Maga fell out of love with beerIn The Spotlight Right-wingers in the US have boycotted beverage brands that fell foul of culture war, and now some are going fully sober
-
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
-
Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl thrills and ranklesIN THE SPOTLIGHT The Puerto Rican superstar’s upcoming halftime performance has fans ecstatic, even as some conservatives gripe
-
One Battle After Another: a ‘terrifically entertaining’ watchThe Week Recommends Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest release is a ‘high-octane action thriller’ and a ‘surefire Oscar frontrunner’
-
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
