Stephen Colbert side-eyed Donald Trump’s claims that his fan base is bigger than Taylor Swift’s during his monologue on Wednesday’s “The Late Show,” reacting to a description of his fans being “more committed” by snarking that they’ve been “committed to jail.”
“We are now nine months away from the 2024 election,” Colbert said at the start of his monologue. “Be sure to have your affairs in order. With Trump’s nomination the near certainty, the MAGA mob is now turning their focus to their leader’s last remaining political rival, Taylor Swift.”
“Apparently, Donald Trump and his allies are freaking out over reports that Joe Biden is seeking an endorsement from Taylor Swift,” Colbert continued. “Oh, come on. No, no, no, no. Please, gentlemen. Come on. Go seeking the endorsement of a pop star. Don’t you think that’s beneath the dignity of the office of Taylor Swift? She has to have standards.”
Colbert noted that Swift did endorse Biden in 2020, “and her support this year could be huge. The size of the hugeness: large. Just last year, a single Instagram post of hers led to 35,000 new voter registrations. That’s impressive.”
Colbert joked that that “explains the strong finish for write-in candidate ‘Give Her Scarf Back Jake.’”
The host then mentioned a recent report that says Biden’s staff may even be considering sending him to a show on Swift’s current Eras tour.
“That would be fun. I wonder what era he’d dress as? I’m gonna I’m going to guess Mesozoic,” Colbert quipped.
“Of course, we can’t even fantasize about Joe Biden screaming out the bridge to ‘Cruel Summer’ without Donald Trump ruining it. Because Trump is jealous now and privately claiming that he is more popular than Taylor Swift,” Colbert continued. “What? More popular than Taylor Swift. That is insane. Can you imagine Trump selling out stadiums in Tokyo?” Colbert said as he slipped into his Trump impression.
“Konnichiwa, Japan. I love your beautiful country. But I have to say your fillet of fish, frankly undercooked,” Colbert-as-Trump said.
“If that’s not ridiculous enough, he’s also claiming that he has ‘more committed fans’ than Taylor does. Well, to be fair, in the last three years, about 500 of his fans have been committed to jail,” Colbert joked.
You can watch the whole monologue in the video at the top of this page.
