President Donald Trump took his social media game to a new level over the weekend, posting an AI-generated video of himself piloting a jet and dropping feces on "No Kings" protestors. The absurd post inspired Stephen Colbert as the Late Show host named the "next pile of crap" Trump has dropped on New York City.
On The Late Show, Colbert opened his monologue with commentary on President Trump's decision to commute the sentence of George Santos. “Last year, the former congressman pleaded guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud and identity theft and was sentenced to seven years in prison,” Colbert said. “But, defying all logic, King Not a King [Trump], arbitrarily commuted Santos’ sentence and released him from prison after he served just 84 days, making Santos just the next pile of crap Trump is dropping on New York.”
Colbert wasn't done there, continuing to attack Santos, "And let’s be clear, Santos is no small-time crook,” Colbert added. “He admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people, including his own family members, if those are his real family members, cause I heard they had their identity stolen.”
As he often does, Colbert also turned his criticism toward Trump’s showmanship, mocking the way the president announced the commutation. “The news came, of course, on Truth Social,” Colbert said, likening it to “a royal decree” issued from an imaginary throne and hammering home just why millions of Americans came out to "No Kings" protests.
Santos’ scandal-plagued tenure in Congress and the subsequent string of fraud charges that landed him behind bars once made him a nightly punchline for hosts like Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, as well as Saturday Night Live. His release from prison is almost certain to put him back in the public eye, and therefore, back on late-night television’s radar.
Late-night had its fun trolling Santos prior to his incarceration. Colbert once spent a monologue calling out Santos' "stupidity" and "corruption." Kimmel pranked the ex-lawmaker with fake Cameo requests, and Bowen Yang gave a rather unflattering portrayal of Santos on Saturday Night Live. It feels like only a matter of time before Santos gives Colbert and the rest of late-night TV new material to work with ... even if no one is asking for what the Late Show host categorized as another "pile of crap" about to hit the streets of New York City.