Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel are bemused at Rudy Giuliani stopping Trump from seizing voting machines

Tuesday was the first day of Black History Month, but "unfortunately, 14 states" are celebrating "with new rules that limit how teachers can teach Black History Month — or as the teachers will now be forced to call it: Month," Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's Late Show. "Speaking of trying to erase history, we're learning more about former President Coup-ssolini" and his efforts to use U.S. national security agencies to seize voting machines in 2020.
"To be clear," Donald Trump "wanted U.S. troops to go into your local polling place, grab the machines, throw them in a truck, and then God knows what? Waterboard them until they say he won?" Colbert said. "You should be alarmed even if you voted for him, because military coups do not lead to healthy societies. No one ever says, 'If only we could emulate the economic miracle that is Myanmar!'"
In Trump's "four years in office, this may be the thing he worked hardest on," Colbert said. But deploying the military was a step too far even for Rudy Giuliani. "Do you know how crazy you have to be to hear that you've gone too far from Rudy Giuliani?" he asked. "That's like hearing you've had too much to drink — from Rudy Giuliani!"
Subscribe to 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.

Yes, "you know you've gone to far when you make Recount Dracula think twice," Jimmy Kimmel said on Kimmel Live. Meanwhile, former Vice President Mike Pence "is in the doghouse with his former owner, Donald Trump." After claiming over the weekend that Pence had the power to overturn the election in his favor, he said, Trump today "went about eight steps further with what is certainly among the Top 5 craziest statements made by a former president of the United States."
"You understand he's calling for an investigation of his own vice president," Kimmel said. "This is like Bonnie calling for an investigation into Clyde. And the saddest part is, Mike Pence is so pathetic, he'd probably agree."

"Trump's advisers have convinced him to stop promoting vaccines because they're worried it could alienate his supporters," Jimmy Fallon said at The Tonight Show. "Don't worry, to win back his non-science supporters, Trump's gonna stare at an eclipse again. That's right, Trump is desperate right now, he's like, 'I"ll do anything in this whole flat world to win you guys back.'"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in 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.
-
Exurbs: America's biggest housing trend you haven't heard of
Under the Radar Northeastern exurbs were the nation's biggest housing markets in 2024
-
How to enjoy a coolcation in Sweden
The Week Recommends You won't break a sweat on Lake Asnen or underground at the Adventure Mine
-
Crossword: May 8, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
India strikes Pakistan as tensions mount in Kashmir
speed read Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called it an 'act of war'
-
Israel approves plan to take over Gaza indefinitely
speed read Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is 'on the eve of a forceful entry'
-
Putin talks nukes as Kyiv slated for US air defenses
speed read 'I hope they will not be required,' Putin said of nuclear weapons on Russian state TV
-
US, Ukraine sign joint minerals deal
speed read The Trump administration signed a deal with Ukraine giving the US access to its mineral wealth
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Israel launches air strike on Beirut suburbs
Speed Read The attack targeting Hezbollah was Israel's third on the Lebanese capital since November's ceasefire
-
Dozens dead in Kashmir as terrorists target tourists
Speed Read Visitors were taking pictures and riding ponies in a popular mountain town when assailants open fired, killing at least 26
-
Israel blames 'failures' for killing of medics
speed read 14 Gaza medics and 1 U.N. employee were killed by IDF special forces