Stephen Colbert tries to make sense of Trump’s CPAC speech
By Matt Moore
Stephen Colbert returned from a week off by going over President Trump’s historically long speech at CPAC.
Among the hundreds and hundreds of voices who shared an opinion on President Donald Trump’s difficult few days last week, one was missing. Stephen Colbert had a bit of bad luck when it came to scheduling a vacation from The Late Show. But he returned to the air last night and had a few things to get off his chest.
Fans of Colbert and late night television surely anticipated hearing from the Late Show host after Michael Cohen’s testimony. Or perhaps Trump’s failed meeting in Vietnam with Kim Jong Un. But like Bill Maher, Colbert took the week off and therefore had to hold onto his thoughts until Monday night.
It was certainly worth the wait once Colbert stepped out in front of his audience at the Ed Sullivan Theater. He admitted to trying to stay away from the news while on vacation. But it is impossible to ignore something as strange and weird as President Trump’s performance at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
One of Colbert’s favorite points to make is when President Trump contradicts himself. It happens fairly frequently and when it does, Colbert is always ready to show the clip or tweet that proves Trump can’t keep things straight.
The biggest example for Colbert from the historically long CPAC speech is Trump’s suggestion that he was joking when asking Russia to hack Hilary Clinton’s emails. After making the comment he was given a chance to clear the air only to double down on the request.
Perhaps Donald Trump isn’t used to having everything he says recorded or filmed for easy reference. The strategies he used to mislead people in business don’t work quite as well when even a late night show can dig up the clip in which he contradicts himself.
The other contradiction that Colbert highlights is Trump’s use of a profanity at the podium. In the big picture, it’s not that big of a deal. But it only becomes worth noting when you consider that Trump has claimed he can be “more presidential” than anyone. For any past president, saying that in a speech would draw criticism yet for Trump it is too insignificant by comparison.
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It’s good to see that Stephen Colbert doesn’t have any rust after taking a week off. But that is to be expected considering how successful he’s been since taking over The Late Show. He will surely have a lot more to say this week so keep checking in with Last Night On for all the coverage.