Stephen Colbert isn’t just a fan of impeaching Donald Trump, he’s also a huge fan of how Adam Schiff has been handling the prosecution’s case in the ongoing impeachment trial in the senate. He even gave Schiff a rock star welcome during his opening monologue on Wednesday’s episode of “The Late Show.”
“It was gratifying to see someone taking the constitutional responsibility of their office seriously. He laid out the case against the president clearly, passionately, cogently, and I believe courageously,” Colbert began. “Because whether or not President Trump is removed from office, history will not forgive those who looked the other way at his abuses, or forget those who stepped into the breach at this moment of crisis.”
But the bad news? “So no surprise, the number one trending topic on Twitter was: Mr. Peanut. Evidently he died,” Colbert joked. “OK, OK. But number two … is Gritty,” a reference to a story that someone accused the NHL mascot of pushing a child.
After lamenting “we’re doomed,” Colbert noted that even before the trial started, Schiff shot down a rumor that Republicans in control of the senate would allow John Bolton to be called as a witness if they were allowed to call Joe Biden. About that, Schiff said: “Trials aren’t trades for witnesses, this isn’t like some fantasy football trade.”
“He’s right. The senate trial isn’t like fantasy football,” Colbert joked. “For one thing, if you start talking about the senate trial, I won’t leave the room.”
That’s when the rock star welcome happened. Colbert played a supercut of Schiff’s opening statements in which he recounted the many crimes Trump is credibly accused of, or, as Colbert put it, the impeachment’s “hits.”
“WHOOOOO! Do quid pro quo!” Colbert joked after the clip ended. “Do drug deal! WHOOOOO!”
Watch the clip below:
TONIGHT: It's Day Two of Trump's impeachment trial and Rep. Adam Schiff is not messing around. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/duJAmdmTir
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) January 23, 2020