Stephen Colbert exposes Donald Trump’s awful response to Barcelona

via CBS
via CBS /
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Donald Trump came so very close to doing the right thing after the terrorist attack in Barcelona, but as Stephen Colbert shows, he wound up screwing it up.

So close, Donald… but I guess you can’t help who you are.

Recently, the people of Barcelona, Spain, endured a deadly terrorist attack which has been all over the news. As is natural, President Donald Trump tweeted about the situation, but this time, he actually wrote something very nice. “We love you,” Trump actually says in the tweet, causing me to realize I don’t think I’ve ever heard him utter the L-word before.

So, that was handled… well? Hmmm…  maybe Trump is finally turning over a new leaf. Perhaps after all that’s been going on lately, Trump finally had an epiphany on the way he should be behaving as president. Not so fast, says Stephen Colbert.

On last night’s Late Show, Colbert showcased the tweet, and even praised how presidential it was. Unfortunately, Colbert describes, Trump’s positive new outlook on things would only last for about 45 minutes. That’s when Trump tweeted again, now saying to “study what General Pershing did to terrorists when caught.”

So, who the hell is that? Colbert explains the story of General Pershing, who served in the American military about a century ago. Using actual footage of Trump himself to explain the rest (Donald really loves this guy), it’s explained that Pershing had a cruel way of executing Muslim POWs. Trump tells a story about Pershing shooting 49 out of 50 Muslim prisoners, telling the survivor to tell the others what happened. Supposedly, this was what ended Radical Islamic terror for over 30 years.

It seems Trump is suggesting that we toughen up to be more like Pershing, and then we’ll be able to end all terrorism. But, there’s a problem… the story isn’t even true. Historians are saying this story has been debunked long ago, but thanks to the uneducated ones among us like the president, it somehow keeps on going.

You can watch the whole bit below.

Next: Steve Bannon gets booted after Seth Meyers roasting

New episodes of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert air weeknights at 11:35 p.m. EST on ABC.