CBS’s Stephen Colbert stayed up for a live show on what turned out to be Wednesday morning after President Donald Trump’s address to Congress. Colbert spent his monologue praising Rep. Al Green for getting kicked out of the House chamber and attacking Trump on everything from transgender issues to shipbuilding. Later, he would welcome former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to wonder, “Where is the soul of our nation headed?”
Democrats have long used Trump’s speeches as a chance to engage in eye-roll-inducing theatrics, but Colbert was a big fan of Green, “Speaker Mike Johnson threatened them with expulsion if they didn't sit down and ultimately, Johnson called in the sergeant at arms to remove 77-year-old Texas Congressman Al Green. Now, some people questioned why so much muscle was needed to remove one old man with a cane. But it turns out it was for a serious reason. When security searched him, they found that he smuggled in a spine. Yeah. It's dangerous. You can't have that.”
After a clip of Trump declaring that there is nothing he could do that will make Democrats happy, Colbert had an idea, “Oh, I don't know. Try saying, ‘I resign.’”
Colbert also played a video of Trump on immigration where he declared, “The media and our friends the Democrat Party kept saying, ‘We needed new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border.’ But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president.
A tradition of these sorts of speeches is the president’s party standing up and applauding everything they say, but Colbert found that ironic, “I get that he's your guy, but isn't it weird for members of Congress to applaud him taking all their power away? ‘Whooooo! We're worthless worms! Choke us, daddy!’"
Of course, Congress passed the original legislation that allows Trump to enforce current law. Still, Colbert then reminded everyone that he considers himself to be one of America’s leading voices of the religious left, “Then we reached the transphobic part of the speech, where the president made this paradoxical statement.”
The statement in question was, “Our message to every child is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”
Apparently, Colbert thinks God would put someone in the wrong body because he brought out his Trump voice and added, “Unless God made you transgender or from the magical land of Lee-sooto. Tough luck! Tough luck being imaginary.”
The Navy non-expert later used his own ignorance of such topics to recall, “And then for reasons that escape me, he talked about bringing back America's shipbuilding industry.”
Following a clip of Trump announcing “a new office of shipbuilding in the White House,” Colbert quipped, “That checks out. I've seen your cabinet. There are pieces of ship all over the White House these days.”
Later, Colbert welcomed Buttigieg and asked him, “What was your reaction to tonight's speech? That's the first six weeks and where we are right now. How about how he summed up the state of our nation and what his plans are?”
Buttigieg replied that “it was classic Trump, right? It was a lot of darkness and a lot of dazzle.”
Continuing Democratic habits of doing a 180 on their perception of the economy, he continued, “But there was very, very little about the things that most affect our lives. I believe politics is about everyday life. It's about what government can and must do to make our everyday lives better and the biggest issue on people's minds, the affordability of everyday life, it's not something that got more than a few seconds of mention in his speech.”
Further on in their interview, Colbert memory-holed any violence, harassment, or obstruction that occurred during last year’s anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses, “For instance, Trump put this out the other day, he said, ‘All federal funding will stop for any college school or university that allows illegal protests.’ I'm sorry. This is America. What the hell is an illegal protest?”
Buttigieg likewise forgot about those events, “That's just it. We have to stand up to this. By the "we," I don't just mean Democrats. Freedom-loving conservatives, libertarians, where are you?... if you are so committed to liberty as a libertarian or freedom-loving conservative that you think the Clean Air Act is tyranny, then what do you have to say about the head of your government threatening to expel or imprison people who protest in disagreement with his politics? Where are you? We should be able to come together around that.”
Next, Colbert lamented and wondered, “The Trump Administration has curtailed protections on human rights, especially for the LGBTQ community. He bragged about it tonight. What does that say about where our country is headed morally? Where is the soul of our nation headed?”
Buttigieg replied that, “our nation has always been at its best when it widens the circle of belonging and equality to take care of more people and not less, and our nation has been at its worst when we've been discriminating.”
Moving on to the Supreme Court, Colbert worried, “Do you have any sense, do you have any fear that this Supreme Court would overturn Obergefell?”
Happy to play along, Buttigieg claimed, “They certainly don’t seem terribly concerned about allowing precedents to stand, even recent precedents, so, you know, how can we not be worried about that?”
Perhaps with all the turnover at MSNBC, Colbert could apply for a hosting gig there. It wouldn’t be that different from his current job.
Here is a transcript for the March 4-5 show:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
3/5/2025
12:06 AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: Then, just minutes into the speech, all hell broke loose. Democrats stood up, started booing. Speaker Mike Johnson threatened them with expulsion if they didn't sit down and ultimately, Johnson called in the sergeant at arms to remove 77-year-old Texas Congressman Al Green. Now, some people questioned why so much muscle was needed to remove one old man with a cane. But it turns out it was for a serious reason. When security searched him, they found that he smuggled in a spine. Yeah. It's dangerous. You can't have that. You can't have that. After the interruption, Trump whined about the opposition.
DONALD TRUMP: Once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me. And I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do.
COLBERT: Oh, I don't know. Try saying, "I resign."
…
COLBERT: Trump bragged about his executive orders on immigration.
TRUMP: The media and our friends the Democrat Party kept saying, “We needed new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border.” But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president.
COLBERT: I get that he's your guy, but isn't it weird for members of Congress to applaud him taking all their power away? "Whooooo! We're worthless worms! Choke us, daddy!"
…
COLBERT: Then we reached the transphobic part of the speech, where the president made this paradoxical statement.
TRUMP: Our message to every child is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.
COLBERT: [TRUMP VOICE] Unless God made you transgender or from the magical land of Lee-sooto. Tough luck! Tough luck being imaginary.
…
COLBERT: And then for reasons that escape me, he talked about bringing back America's shipbuilding industry.
TRUMP: I am announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House.
COLBERT: That checks out. I've seen your cabinet. There are pieces of ship all over the White House these days.
…
COLBERT: What was your reaction to tonight's speech? That's the first six weeks and where we are right now.
PETE BUTTIGIEG: Yeah.
COLBERT: How about how he summed up the state of our nation and what his plans are?
BUTTIGIEG: Look, it was classic Trump, right? It was a lot of darkness and a lot of dazzle. But there was very, very little about the things that most affect our lives. I believe politics is about everyday life. It's about what government can and must do to make our everyday lives better and the biggest issue on people's minds, the affordability of everyday life, it's not something that got more than a few seconds of mention in his speech.
Nor did he mention some of the biggest things in dollar terms that he's doing. I mean, objectively. The biggest thing that he's working on his tax cuts for the rich, $5 trillion minimum. No mention in his speech that was what, two hours, I think the longest of its kind ever, right? But it's always like this, right? It’s always going to be about—they're going to talk about Greenland and about pronouns and about mice and not about what's actually going to make our lives better.
…
COLBERT: For instance, Trump put this out the other day, he said, “All federal funding will stop for any college school or university that allows illegal protests.” I'm sorry. This is America. What the hell is an illegal protest?
BUTTIGIEG: That's just it. We have to stand up to this. By the "we," I don't just mean Democrats. Freedom-loving conservatives, libertarians, where are you? Like, we might not agree on everything. But if you are so committed to liberty as a libertarian or freedom-loving conservative that you think the Clean Air Act is tyranny, then what do you have to say about the head of your government threatening to expel or imprison people who protest in disagreement with his politics? Where are you? We should be able to come together around that.
COLBERT: The Trump Administration has curtailed protections on human rights, especially for the LGBTQ community. He bragged about it tonight. What does that say about where our country is headed morally? Where is the soul of our nation headed?
BUTTIGIEG: Look, our nation has always been at its best when it widens the circle of belonging and equality to take care of more people and not less, and our nation has been at its worst when we've been discriminating.
COLBERT: Do you have any sense, do you have any fear that this Supreme Court would overturn Obergefell?
BUTTIGIEG: Sure.
COLBERT: And the right for gay people to marry?
BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, I mean, they certainly don’t seem terribly concerned about allowing precedents to stand, even recent precedents, so, you know, how can we not be worried about that?
