The final days of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert offer a good opportunity to look back over Stephen Colbert's successful late-night run. In fact, some recent headlines involving President Donald Trump allowed Colbert to revisit one particular joke that turned out to be more like a prediction.
News broke this week that the flashy gold Trump Mobile phone might never actually arrive. The company originally accepted $100 deposits, but customers never received any updates after nearly a year. Then, Trump Mobile changed its terms to indicate the phones may never ship.
Colbert revisited the “T1” phone nearly a year after first mocking it when it was unveiled by Trump’s sons, Eric and Don. Jr. At the time, Colbert pointed out how the Trump Mobile website put quotes around the "T1 Phone."
It didn't really stand out at the time, except for the Late Show host. According to Colbert, it was done "Possibly so they can have plausible deniability when your ‘T1 phone’ turns out to be a foil-wrapped hash brown.”
Now, with reports surfacing that many customers still have not received their phones (and may never receive them), Colbert happily pointed out that his joke was not far off. “Okay, I mean, that joke wasn’t fair,” he said. “Obviously when you order this phone, you’re not getting hash browns because you’re not getting anything.”
Back in the present day, the Late Show host then highlighted newly updated language on the Trump Mobile website stating that the company does not guarantee the phone “will be commercially released,” that regulatory approvals will be secured, or even that delivery will happen within any specific time frame.
Colbert compared the disclaimer to wedding vows loaded with legal loopholes, imagining a groom not making any guarantees to love, honor, or cherish his bride. The comedian also tried to wrap his head around reports that roughly 600,000 Trump supporters reportedly placed $100 deposits for the phones after they were announced in 2025.
Making things worse, Colbert teased the customers for buying the phones from President Trump's sons, or as the late-night host put it, "it’s like saying, ‘Yeah, I got shaken down by Capone.’ Not Al — his son, Kyle Capone. He does a podcast.'”
That line highlighted one of the biggest takeaways from the bit. Colbert was careful not to directly insult the people who bought a Trump phone. But the Late Show host did want to point out how President Trump's family businesses can turn even loyal followers into the butt of the joke.
In the end, Colbert's monologue on Tuesday night worked because it did two things at once. It was a standard late-night roast of a Trump product, like the Trump Bible or Trump sneakers. But it also functioned as a little victory lap for Colbert as he nears the finish line.
We're just over a week out from the final Late Show with Stephen Colbert episode. And with it will end over a decade of Donald Trump jokes from Stephen Colbert. So it's made for a nice touch that Colbert could pull out some receipts and say "I told you so" at least one more time.
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