Stephen Colbert: Trump is stealing my anti-intellectual property

Stephen Colbert made a compelling case on The Late Show that President Trump is infringing on the bit that made Colbert famous.

It sure seems like it’s a tough time to be President Trump, doesn’t it? His Republican Party lost control of the House in the midterm elections. His former attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying about meeting with Russians. And now Stephen Colbert plans to bring legal action against the president.

It’s no secret that President Trump is a big fan of television. A lot of people would prefer if he returned to his old job of hosting The Apprentice. But Trump has made a point to share his thoughts on everything from Roseanne to Saturday Night Live.  He even has time in his busy schedule carved out for him to catch up on Fox News.

So perhaps it’s not that surprising that some of that television watching seeped into Trump’s subconscious. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for him to regurgitate something he heard on television. Stephen Colbert suggested that he may be a victim of Trump repeating what came from television:

Is it possible that Trump watched The Colbert Report unaware that the host was a character? Yes, it is because Trump hasn’t shown he has too tight a grasp on reality. On the other hand, Colbert may be giving the president too much credit by suggesting Trump can recall something he saw back in 2005. After all, this is someone who said he can’t recall saying he had one of the best memories.

Trump taking his personal philosophy from Colbert would explain a few things. The president certainly has taken a “truthiness” approach to things like climate change, Russian election interference, and the Jamal Khashoggi murder. Who needs a brainy intellectual running the country when you can have a guy going with his gut?

Colbert addressed a similar rip-off of “truthiness” two years ago. “Post-truth” was named Word of the Year for 2016 as the Trump White House struggled with facts. It had the Late Show host questioning it’s originality.

So there you have it. “Another’ lawsuit coming against President Trump. You can add it to the list of countless others from contractors to university students to porn stars. Trump probably has a gut feeling that it will all work out for him in the end. No doubt he’ll be glued to the television to see how it all unfolds.