Stephen Colbert tears into ‘terrified’ Trump’s latest video: ‘He doesn’t mean a word of it’

Trump ‘will say anything’ to save himself, says Colbert

Stephen Colbert denounced Donald Trump’s latest video in a segment on Thursday night (YouTube/ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

Stephen Colbert denounced Donald Trump’s latest video address in a blistering segment, saying the president “doesn’t mean a word of it” and will “say anything” to save himself.

Late-night hosts devoted large parts of their shows on Thursday night to the aftermath of Wednesday’s deadly insurrection at the US Capitol. Supporters of Donald Trump breached security and swarmed the building (the seat of the US government’s federal branch), disrupting the transition between Trump’s administration and that of President-Elect Joe Biden.

On Thursday, Trump released the second of two video addresses regarding the violent riots. Despite having stoked his supporters’ anger for months, he – among several lies – claimed to now be focused on a “smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power”. He also assured his supporters that “our incredibly journey is just beginning”. 

The clip came after another video address in which he told the mob that stormed the Capitol: “We love you. You're very special.”

In Thursday’s broadcast of his late show, Colbert declined to air Trump’s latest clip. “I’m not going to show you a word of his video, because he doesn’t mean a word of it,” he told viewers. “A man facing a noose will say anything to save his neck – or save his skin, it’s hard to tell, there’s a lot of skin around that neck. All you need to know is this man is terrified.”

A mounting number of lawmakers have called for Trump to be removed from power, by way of impeachment if necessary.

Colbert’s analysis appeared to be vindicated on Friday morning when Trump reverted to his usual tone, tweeting: “The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”

Shortly afterwards, Trump added in another tweet: “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”

On Thursday, Trevor Noah delivered a segment comparing Trump’s speeches and rhetoric to those of several authoritarian leaders in African countries.

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Seth Meyers urged people to “stop using the words ‘banana republic’ or ‘third-world country’ to describe what happened [on Wednesday]”, adding: “There have been violent insurrections in this country before, and without consequences it’s going to happen again.” Meyers referred to the Capitol riots as “unfortunately a familiar part of American history” and “very much a part of what America is”.