On Tuesday’s “The Late Show,” host Stephen Colbert unsurprisingly took a moment to lay into Donald Trump’s Monday night Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, playing clips of the former president’s “rambling” answers and his refusal to play along with some of Hannity’s softball questions.
When it came to answering to the photo he posted to Truth Social depicting himself holding a baseball bat over Manhattan DA Alvin Brigg’s head, Trump’s response didn’t satisfy Colbert. Zeroing in on that answer, the “Late Show” host ultimately began questioning whether he was of sound mind.
“After that rambling explanation, I think I have a pretty good idea of who got hit in the head with a bat,” Colbert joked.
Trump is currently under investigation by the Manhattan DA over hush money payments to Stormy Daniels allegedly paid via campaign financing, and with a potential indictment looming, Colbert thought it reasonable that Trump would turn to Hannity.
“With the indictment walls closing in, last night, the ex-president sat down with his buddy, conservative pundit and the first thing Fox News viewers see when they die, Sean Hannity,” Colbert said, sniping the Fox News personality. “He’s waiting! He’s on the other side.”
“Hannity asked the former president about his Truth Social post from the weekend where he put up this threatening photo of himself wielding a baseball bat next to a photo of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s head,” Colbert continued. “It seems ominous, but not if you ask the guy holding the bat.”
“The Late Show” then cut to a clip of Trump’s response.
“Now you have to understand when the story was put up, I put up a story, we didn’t see pictures, and they put up a picture of me,” Trump began. “And you know where I was holding the baseball bat? I was at the White House – Make America, Buy America, because I did a lot of ‘Buy America’ things, and there’s a company that makes baseball bats. Then they put next to that picture a picture of Alvin Bragg. I didn’t do it, they did it. The, I guess the people that do the paper or somebody put pictures together…”
That’s when Colbert cut in.
“After that rambling explanation, I think I have a pretty good idea of who got hit in the head with a bat.”
The riff on Hannity’s interview with Trump continued, mocking him for not taking the interviewer’s bate to help clear his name of another controversy where boxes of confidential information were found in his private Mar-a-Lago estate. He “desperately tried to give him an escape route,” Colbert said, cutting to the clip.
“I can’t image you ever saying, ‘Bring me some of the boxes that we brought back from the White House, I’d like to look at them.’ Did you ever do that?” Hannity asked.
“I would have the right to do that! There’s nothing wrong with it,” Trump responded.
“But I know you, I don’t think you would do it,” Hannity continued.
“Well, I don’t have a lot of time, but I would have the right to do that. I would do that.”
“All right, let me move on.”
“Late Show” producers then cut back to a stunned Colbert, before he broke into a bit:
“Objection, objection your honor! Leading the witness – and somehow failing to do that. Does the witness not realize I’m trying to lead him?”
Watch the full “Late Show” monologue in the video above.