Skip to main content

Donald Trump Came for Stephen Colbert, and Wow Did He Miss

About a year ago, Stephen Colbert had some choice insults for—what? Oh, I’m hearing that was only last week, and news about FBI Director Comey’s firing has simply rendered time meaningless—Donald Trump. He got a bit on the vulgar side, which got him into some trouble, but in trying to join the pile on, Donald Trump himself will probably not achieve the affect he desired.

Recommended Videos

In an interview with Time, Trump finally acknowledged Colbert, who’s found ratings success in mocking his administration. Colbert enjoyed this paragraph in particular: “You see a no-talent guy like Colbert. There’s nothing funny about what he says. And what he says is filthy. And you have kids watching. And it only builds up my base. It only helps me, people like him. The guy was dying. By the way they were going to take him off television, then he started attacking me and he started doing better. But his show was dying. I’ve done his show. … But when I did his show, which by the way was very highly rated. It was high—highest rating. The highest rating he’s ever had.”

There’s just so much that’s weird about that, especially the part where Trump insists that his own popularity has only been helped by Colbert’s insults, while also admitting those insults are driving ratings success for The Late Show. As Colbert pointed out, it’s almost as though people don’t like Donald Trump! He also can’t help but boast about his own high ratings on the show, not only saying that they were Colbert’s highest ratings (Colbert disagrees), but that it was “very highly rated” in general.

That’s a strange, fairly ineffective way to insult a person, but Colbert couldn’t be more thrilled to finally have his one-way feud reciprocated. He launched into another string of insults, avoiding the vulgar this time in favor of some classier digs at Trump’s approval ratings and swirling talk of impeachment. You can watch Colbert give Trump the comedic beating he walked right into above, and you might as well take some time to laugh now, because there’s nothing funny about the nightmarish line of succession—not to mention the Republican Congress—if that impeachment actually ever happens.

(image: screengrab)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Author
Dan Van Winkle
Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct <em>Geekosystem</em> (RIP), and then at <em>The Mary Sue</em> starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at <em>Smash Bros.</em>

Filed Under:

Follow The Mary Sue: