Stephen Colbert can’t congratulate Trump for death of ISIS leader
By Matt Moore
Stephen Colbert says that President Donald Trump makes it too difficult to congratulate him for the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
President Donald Trump has done so much wrong in the eyes of Stephen Colbert that even an accomplishment cannot be properly acknowledged. President Trump’s rhetoric in describing the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ensured that he received no praise from the Late Show host.
Trump delivered a detailed description of how U.S. special forces tracked al-Baghdadi and closed in on the terrorist before he killed himself. The President was very specific in his account of events, using many of his favorite superlatives and adjectives along the way.
Colbert couldn’t help but notice how self-congratulatory Trump sounded in revealing the news of al-Baghdadi’s death. Late Show fans already know that Colbert has little patience for such boasting especially when it comes from the President of the United States.
So President Trump praising himself for orchestrating the operation was already mistake one for Colbert. Mistake two came when Trump became very graphic in detailing the final moments of al-Baghdadi’s life.
Mistake number three probably came when Trump made a point to announce how al-Baghdadi’s death was a big deal. Or how Trump seemed eager to portray the ISIS leader as the worst terrorist of all time and therefore increase the magnitude of his accomplishment. Referencing his book and (falsely) claiming that he knew about Osama bin Laden before anyone also didn’t endear Trump to Colbert.
It was not realistic to expect President Trump to deliver this news in a similar manner to President Barack Obama reporting on the death of bin Laden. Colbert still compares the two speeches but even he has long ago abandoned any hope that Trump would act “presidential” in any situation.
Trump’s press conference was a good example of how his relationship with late night television works. Trump does something that on the surface should be typical of a president yet he can’t get through it without rambling or sounding foolish. Late night makes fun of him and Trump complains that he is unfairly treated and gets no credit. Those complaints then find their way into the next batch of late night monologues and sketches.
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Stephen Colbert ends his monologue by telling President Donald Trump exactly what he should of said. Instead, Colbert argues that Trump instead ruins it and gives late night “plenty of flank to spank.” So we are now at the point where Colbert is trying to help the President not get ridiculed by comedians. Will Trump listen to Colbert’s advice? Not likely.