Stephen Colbert pins Capitol chaos on Trump’s Republican supporters

An angry Stephen Colbert addressed Republicans who have supported President Donald Trump for the past five years

The U.S. Capitol was evacuated yesterday as a group of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building and disrupted a joint session of Congress. The events evoked many different emotions from sadness to embarrassment. For Stephen Colbert, it brought out a sense of anger and the Late Show directed it at President Trump’s Republican allies.

The Late Show chose to go live on Wednesday night in response to what happened. Colbert interviewed Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Adam Kinzinger, both of whom blamed President Trump for the chaos.

And while Colbert didn’t disagree, the Late Show host thinks there is more than enough blame to go around. His Republican supporters have enabled President Trump and they should be held just as responsible, argued Colbert.

Colbert’s monologue was reminiscent of the one he delivered in the days following the election when President Trump made it clear he would not accept anything other than victory. A visibly angry Colbert did his best to put what we all saw yesterday into context.

Stephen Colbert has a simple question for Republicans: “are we great again yet?” That was the promise President Trump made and one echoed by his supporters. But after yesterday’s assault on the Capitol, Colbert wouldn’t describe anything in America as “great” right now.

Colbert also has no patience for any excuse-making that could come from the GOP. Those backing away from President Trump cannot claim that they didn’t see this coming, says Colbert. If the comedian host of The Late Show could predict what was going to happen, then so should politicians in Washington:

"Who could have seen this coming? Everyone. Even dummies like me. This is the most shocking, most tragic, least surprising thing I’ve ever seen."

Stephen Colbert says loyalty to President Trump finally caught up to Republicans

This is by no means the first time Stephen Colbert’s monologue has been dedicated to calling out the Republican Party. The comedian has compared the party to a cult and repeatedly questioned why no one was willing to speak out against President Trump.

Wednesday was a day of reckoning for the GOP in Colbert’s eyes. He calls Republicans cowards who thought they would never have to pay a price for perpetuating lies about our democracy. But it was those same Republicans being escorted to safe spaces in the Capitol while President Trump watched on television from the safety of the White House, taking his time before making any public statement.

Colbert asks Republicans why they ran away or agreed to be evacuated. The protestors were supposed to be their supporters and on their side, says Colbert. The only explanation Colbert can think of is cowardice. But he left the GOP with this reminder:

"You can run all you want, for the rest of your lives but you can never escape the responsibility of what you brought upon American democracy today."

What did you think of Stephen Colbert’s monologue? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.