Stephen Colbert: El Paso wants Trump to stay away

Stephen Colbert reacted to El Paso’s leaders calling for President Donald Trump not to visit the city.

Stephen Colbert called out the predictable and nearly scripted responses to tragedies like the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. This process, sadly all too common, includes the president visiting the affected area to show his support. But things would go a little differently this time if it was up to El Paso.

Much has been made about how President Trump’s rhetoric contributed to the climate that influenced the racially-motivated shootings in El Paso. Per usual, Stephen Colbert has been a leading voice not just in late night condemning Trump and his response.

Fans and audiences have come to expect Colbert to respond the way he did. What wasn’t expected was the response from those in El Paso. Representative Veronica Escobar and Mayor Dee Margo did not seem eager to welcome Trump to El Paso as planned.

Representative Escobar was very direct in saying that Trump should stay home and do some self-reflection. Her comments kicked off Colbert’s monologue on Tuesday night.

It is fair to think that if Trump announced he was going to hold off on visiting El Paso, he would be criticized as well. But in many ways, that is the bed that Trump has made for himself. He was criticized plenty for golfing in the immediate aftermath of the shooting in Dayton, Ohio.

Colbert attempts to boos Escobar’s comments here and runs with the idea that Trump needs to take a long look in the mirror but in a metaphorical sense. Colbert wasn’t buying the president’s remarks in his press conference so the comedian doesn’t see what comfort Trump can offer in El Paso.

El Paso has had problems with Trump before the tragedy as Colbert notes. The city is still waiting on $500,000 in payments following a rally Trump staged there. That, combined with the city’s strong Democratic population, means that the president doesn’t have too many supporters there as it was before the devastating shooting.

Once Colbert helped spread El Paso’ message, he turned his attention to Fox News. The cable network has always had late night’s attention for the way it spreads Trump’s message or dictates it.

Colbert calls out Brian Kilmeade for criticizing President Barack Obama’s statement that did not directly name President Trump. Besides the poorly reasoned argument that Obama could have been criticized for Sandy Hook, Kilmeade’s immediate thought of Trump at the mention of racist leadership amused Colbert.

We will have to wait and see what kind of welcoming President Trump gets in El Paso. Every step he takes and every word he says will surely be analyzed even more than usual. Expect Stephen Colbert to be front and center when it comes time to break it all down.