Stephen Colbert: John Bolton’s book is worse than I imagined

Stephen Colbert was shocked by the allegations in John Bolton’s book

It is not often that President Donald Trump and his administration can shock Stephen Colbert. After the last five years, the Late Show host would say he’s seen it all. But excerpts from a new book by John Bolton have changed everything.

The Room Where It Happened from former National Security Advisor Bolton has been making headlines for weeks. The Trump administration has attempted to block its publication by claiming that it contains classified information. The resistance has only increased attention on the book and what Bolton has to say about what really goes on in the White House.

The public got its first glimpse of those details on Wednesday. Multiple media outlets obtained copies of the book and began releasing story after story painting a picture of corruption and incompetence in Trump’s administration. The immediate reaction was marked by outrage and shock for many Americans and pundits.

Stephen Colbert has been teasing his copy of The Room Where It Happened for the past week or so. An embargo prevented him from discussing it but that is no longer in play. The Late Show monologue on Wednesday night explained why Colbert says the book is worse than he could have imagined:

In The Room Where It Happened, John Bolton confirms Stephen Colbert’s view of President Trump

John Bolton’s book covers everything from small mistakes to massive red flags regarding corruption. For late night fans, it encapsulates everything that comedians like Stephen Colbert have been saying about Donald Trump for the past five years.

Colbert routinely mocks President Trump’s intelligence and how he is out of his depth on world politics. The Room Where It Happened confirms this by reporting President Trump didn’t know Great Britain was a nuclear power and had to ask if Finland was part of Russia.

The Late Show has challenged the president’s competence as a leader. Bolton seems to back this up by sharing a story of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo passing a disparaging note and revealing that intelligence briefings with President Trump were a waste of time.

Corruption and election interference were major themes during Colbert’s monologues on the Mueller report. Bolton backs up what Colbert thinks of the president by alleging that President Trump asked China’s President Xi Jinping to help his reelection chances by purchasing agricultural products to help Trump win farm states in 2020.

Colbert’s tone shifts from mocking to condemnation when he covers Bolton’s discussion of President Trump approving of President Xi building concentration camps in China. Colbert compares it to the cages used to detain immigrant children and again finds himself validated by Bolton’s book.

Yet Colbert doesn’t exactly thank Bolton for The Room Where It Happened. He calls out Bolton for never speaking up sooner and instead waiting until it was financially beneficial to cash in on a book deal. It will be interesting to see how combative Colbert will be when Bolton is a guest on The Late Show on Tuesday, June 23.

What did you think of Stephen Colbert’s monologue? What do you expect from his interview with John Bolton? Share your thoughts in the comment section.