Stephen Colbert: Capitol attack was worse than I thought

Stephen Colbert may have underestimated the severity of the attack on the Capitol

After only a few days, Stephen Colbert has a very different perspective on what happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The Late Show host’s monologue on Monday explained why he may have underestimated just what happened that day.

The Late Show went live on the day a mob stormed the Capitol and sent members of Congress into protective hiding. Colbert threw out his planned monologue and instead gave his emotional reaction to the attack while laying much of the blame on President Donald Trump’s Republican allies.

Since then, we’ve learned more about the attack. More people have died as a result of the violence. More arrests have been made. Yet at the same time, more questions have also been raised about who was behind the attack, the objective, and the response from law enforcement.

With this new information, Colbert thinks his initial response wasn’t enough. The comedian said it was the most upset he’d ever been watching the Capitol attack. But during Monday’s monologue, Colbert called himself naïve and explained why he should have been even more disturbed.

What at first may have appeared to be a frenzied mob of President Trump’s supporters was actually much more dangerous. Colbert highlights the discovery of pipe bombs as well as how rioters carried weapons, gas masks, and climbing gear. It means that this wasn’t an impromptu decision to storm the Capitol but instead something premeditated and encouraged.

Colbert’s anger becomes more and more evident as the monologue goes on. He calls out the hypocrisy of those who spent the summer preaching support for the police only to attack and beat Capitol police officers.

Stephen Colbert fully supports a second impeachment of President Donald Trump

Clearly, there is plenty of blame to go around for what happened at the Capitol. Stephen Colbert now has two monologues pointing the finger at Republicans in Congress and the terrorists who carried out the attack.

It’s no surprise that President Trump is also on Colbert’s list. It’s why the late night host is in full support of impeachment even if we’re only nine days away from a new president. For Colbert, that is more than enough time for President Trump to do more damage to the country.

Colbert rips Republicans like Vice President Mike Pence and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for not standing up to President Trump. He can’t quite wrap his head around the excuses that the country needs to be unified or that we should wait until President Trump becomes more unstable.

It may be the only thing that Colbert and Republicans have in common: both misjudged the severity of what happened at the Capitol. The difference is that Colbert adjusted his opinion once he learned more information while the GOP seems to be holding its breath until Jan. 20.

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