Stephen Colbert pictures Putin buying Russia's Ukraine propaganda, Seth Meyers ties in Cawthorn's orgies
"Tonight marks five weeks since the start of Russia's failed invasion of Ukraine," Stephen Colbert said on Thursday's Late Show. "But Vladimir Putin may not be aware of just how bad his invasion is going, because new intelligence suggests that Putin's advisers misinformed him on Ukraine. Well, Putin's clearly a victim of his own pro-Russian propaganda. I mean, he doesn't even know that Russia lost Rocky IV."
The Late Show took a stab at depicting Putin falling for his own Ukraine propaganda.
Late Night's Seth Meyers, meanwhile, took a distant look at the continued fallout from Rep. Madison Cawthorn's (R-N.C.) D.C. "sexual get-together" and cocaine allegations and why Republicans are so much more upset about that than the seven-hour gap in former President Donald Trump's phone logs during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cawthorn's GOP orgies-and-cocaine allegations are clearly "one of the weirdest political scandals in recent memory," and "the funniest part of this whole thing is the uproar it's caused within the GOP caucus among Republican members of Congress who are now getting questions about it, including questions from their own spouses," Meyers said. "This is exactly what they deserve," but it's also "so telling that this is the scandal that has Republicans up in arms — not, for example, the bombshell revelation" about Trump's missing call logs and blanket denial of using burner phones, even though "a bunch of people immediately came out and said, 'Yeah, no, he definitely used burner phones.'"
Yeah, Trump "has probably flushed more phones than he's kept," but "Trump isn't the only one looking guilty," Samantha Bee said on Full Frontal, recapping the "nuts" and "thirsty" text messages Supreme Court wife Ginni Thomas sent to Mark Meadows in support of overturning the election.
"The revelation about Ginni Thomas' activities have sparked outrage from Democrats, who are pulling out the big guns by sending a whole entire letter to the Supreme Court," Bee said, but there's little they can do because the Supreme Court makes its own rules. "It is absolutely bonkers to expect Clarence Thomas to recuse himself just because it's the right thing to do — doing the worst possible thing is Thomas' whole deal," she said. "The Justice Department needs to pursue a full investigation into whether Trump and his allies committed crimes in connection with Jan. 6," because if it doesn't, Republicans will succeed next time.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
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.
-
Paloma recipe: the cocktail of the summer
The Week Recommends This refreshing drink balances the fresh and fizzy taste of grapefruit soda with a subtle flavour of smooth tequila
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Mushroom edibles are tripping up users
the explainer The psychedelics can sometimes have questionable components
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Prisons are simply not prepared for extreme heat
Under the radar Inmates are at severe risk of heat-related illness
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Menendez convicted of bribery, fraud, and extortion
Speed Read The New Jersey Democratic Senator was found guilty in a federal corruption trial
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Venezuela election: first vote in a decade offers hope to poverty-stricken nation
The Explainer Nicolás Maduro agreed to 'free and fair' vote but poor polling and threat of prosecution pushes disputed leader to desperate methods
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Florida judge dismisses Trump documents case
Speed Read Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Hamas says military chief survived Israeli strike
Speed Read An Israeli bombing failed to hit its intended target, military commander Mohammed Deif, but killed at least 90 Palestinians
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
First Israeli report on Oct. 7 finds 'severe mistakes and errors' in IDF response
Speed Reads Israeli military admits failures in response to deadly Hamas attack that triggered Gaza war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published