Bitter, far-left comedian Stephen Colbert hosted a live Late Show on Tuesday following President Trump’s address to a Joint Session of Congress and panned it during his monologue but later conceded that it was “a perfectly good speech” that honored our troops.
Also worth noting was former Obama White House press secretary Josh Earnest discussing his relationship with the Fox News Channel (FNC) over the years and even quipped to Colbert that FNC is an example of “fake news.”
At the top of his monologue, Colbert offered a bizarre joke about the reason Trump’s speech wasn’t a State of the Union:
Yeah, we're live right after Donald Trump's address to Congress. Now, technically, this was not a State of the Union because I think in this timeline, the Confederacy won. Right? I've never seen this movie before but I think that's how this one ends. I'm not entirely sure. We got to get back to the interdimensional portholes as quickly as we can.
Colbert also offered up a weak quip about how CNN “troll[ed] the nation with the caption, ‘Trump leaves White House soon” prior to the speech. The crowd hooted and hollered at the joke that CNN had tried to imply Trump was quitting the presidency.
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“Not cool. That's not right. What's next? Covering the President descending a staircase with the caption ‘Trump steps down?’ Don’t you dare,” Colbert griped to the camera.
Acknowledging the Democratic women who dressed in white for the evening (sitting pat without any moments of applause) “in honor of women’s suffrage,” Colbert knocked Republicans for being “white in honor of who elected them and you gotta give back.”
Colbert’s first guest was Earnest and he told the former Obama aide that Trump gave Republicans “some exercise with all the upping and downing” in the amount of applause lines.
However, it was here that Colbert conceded: “I have to say. I thought it was a perfectly good speech, you know. He — he — he saluted our troops, those who have sacrificed for our nation. That was very moving. He certainly addressed his own party's concerns.”
Going to Fox News, Earnest denied that the White House ever tried to ban “Fox from participating in the daily White House briefing” and “[e]very day that I was the press secretary, I called on Fox News and I took questions from Fox News.”
Earnest added that it was “risky” on his part but when Colbert shot back that they always “fact-checked you,” Sean Spicer’s predecessor stunned everyone when he went nuclear, calling Fox News “fake news”:
EARNEST: But since you brought up fake news — [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] Oh, there you go. Oh, thank you. This is a comedy show, right?
COLBERT: Sure, most of the time. Most of the time.
EARNEST: Okay, so there you go. It's comedy. It’s comedy.
Turning serious, Earnest lumped Republicans into the birther movement as the original pedalers of fake news while he and Barack Obama were dealing only in “facts”:
It's not new. They tried the same thing over last eight years by trying to delegitimize President Obama by accusing him of not being born in the United States. This whole idea of fake news is not a new thing. This is something that Republicans have been engaged in, and one Republican in particular has been very focused on for a long time. We tried a different strategy. Our strategy was to tell the truth. Our strategy was to marshal facts and to present evidence.
Here’s the relevant portions of the transcript from CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on February 28:
CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
February 28, 2017
11:37 p.m. Eastern
STEPHEN COLBERT: Yeah, we're live right after Donald Trump's address to Congress. Now, technically, this was not a State of the Union because I think in this timeline, the Confederacy won. [LAUGHTER] Right? I've never seen this movie before but I think that's how this one ends. I'm not entirely sure. We got to get back to the interdimensional portholes as quickly as we can. There was a lot of anticipation tonight. It was a huge evening for the President and for everybody in Washington and the nation. Before it even began, CNN trolled the nation with the caption, “Trump leaves White House soon.” [CHEERS AND APLLAUSE] Don't tease! Not cool, CNN. Not cool. That's not right. What's next, covering the President descending a staircase with the caption “Trump steps down?” Don’t you dare. And as he was leaving the White House, cameras caught President Trump apparently rehearsing his lines in the back of the limo. Now, obviously, CNN's powerful microphones picked up what he was saying. “Uh, I'll have the clams casino, and I'll have a side of steak. And the lady will have a coke, no ice. And I'll have her steak, please.” [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] Hungry. CNN — CNN's powerful microphones. Of course, it's a really big night, and some in Congress dressed for the occasion. The female members of the House Democratic caucus all wore white in honor of women's suffrage, while [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] — very nice. They wore white. While the Republicans were white in honor of who elected them and you gotta give back. You gotta give back.
JON BATISTE: All the white notes!
COLBERT: You gotta dance with the girl that brung ya.
(....)
March 1, 2017
12:04 a.m. EasternCOLBERT: He gave them some exercise — he gave them some exercise with all the upping and downing they did. I have to say. I thought it was a perfectly good speech, you know. He — he — he saluted our troops, those who have sacrificed for our nation. That was very moving.
JOSH EARNEST: Yeah.
COLBERT: He certainly addressed his own party's concerns.
(....)
12:07 a.m. Eastern
COLBERT: Was it fair to criticize you guys for keeping Fox out?
EARNEST: We had our differences with Fox, and there were certain situation where's we had some dust-ups, but there was never a situation, Stephen, where we prevented Fox from participating in the daily White House briefing. In fact we didn't just let them attend the White House briefing. Every day that I was the press secretary I called on Fox News and I took questions from Fox News. And I know there's a lot of conversation about —
COLBERT: I’ll tell you this.
EARNEST: It's risky.
COLBERT: — that's not — that's not what I hear on Fox News. [LAUGHTER]
EARNEST: No, it's not
COLBERT: And they’ve fact-checked you. Yeah, they’ve fact-checked you.
EARNEST: but since you brought up fake news — [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] Oh, there you go. Oh, thank you. This is a comedy show, right?
COLBERT: Sure, most of the time. Most of the time.
EARNEST: Okay, so there you go. It's comedy. It’s comedy.
