In the last moments of Thursday, CBS Late Show host Stephen Colbert emerged for another tremendously unfunny 15-minute lecture. He announced he was dressed in black and refused to sit down.
He began in anger: “We're taping this just a little while after Donald Trump walked into the White House Briefing Room, actually, and tried to poison American democracy.” He sounded choked up, saying Trump’s remarks were “devastating” and “heartbreaking.”
In a stale rerun, Colbert pulled out his Edmund Burke quotation and demanded that Republicans have to speak up against Trump, against “evil.”
COLBERT: That office should have some shred of decency. Now, we always knew he would leave a stain there-- and not just from his butt bronzer-- because everything he did – everything! is now in some way presidential behavior. Including this. Unless! Unless every single person rejects what he just did.
And that means, for all the predictable behavior of the last few days and the last four years, right now something unpredictable needs to happen: Republicans have to speak up -- all of them. Because for evil to succeed, all that is necessary is for good men to do nothing. So say something right now, Republicans. Not later, not after you've stuck your finger up in the wind or wherever you want to put it. Right now, it's in your best interest.
You only survived this up until now because a lot of voters didn't want to believe everything that was obvious to so many of us: That Donald Trump is a fascist. And when it comes to democracy versus fascism, I’m sorry, there are not fine people on both sides. So you need to choose: Donald Trump or the American people? This is the time to get off the Trump Train. Because he just told you where the train is going, and it's not a passenger train, and he'll load you on it someday, too.
Later, after ripping Mitch McConnell, Colbert continued the rant: "Americans are going to start counting something else, starting right now. They’re gonna count who was willing to speak up. They are going to count who is going to speak up against Donald Trump trying to kill democracy, and they’ll count who will stay silent in the face of this desperate attack on the bedrock institution of this truly great nation."
Then Colbert boasted "We're not going to show you a second of what that sad, frightened fraud said tonight. Because it’s poison, and I like you. He can suck silence. And he can suck my frosted yumnut."
That may be a sequel of sorts to Colbert suggesting Trump was "Putin's cock holster."
