Stephen Colbert broke his own eight-month no-Trump-naming streak on Thursday’s “Late Show” and says he has a very good reason for introducing the former president’s actual name back to his audience.
“Naturally, we all want to forget about that guy. Since the day he went out and lied about the election on Nov. 5, OK, since that day I try not to say his name,” Colbert said at the top of last night’s “Late Show.” “We don’t show his name on air. I don’t do my impression, because haven’t you suffered enough? But there are times when you just have to slap yourself in the face, put a little cold water on the back of your neck, bear down on the bite stick and remind yourself just how bad it was by repeating out loud the simple fact, ‘Donald Trump is a fascist.”
Why was this the time to finally drop the Donald Trump bomb on the CBS late-night show? Well, Colbert says this particular instance isn’t just him “flapping” his gums, but the words of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley, who is at “DefCon Eyebrow” after revealing Thursday he feared that Trump was “stoking unrest” in preparation for a coup attempt on Jan. 6, the day multiple insurrectionists overran the U.S. Capitol in his name.
“Clearly, the former president didn’t like the tea that Milley spill-y, because earlier today, the ex-prez released a statement declaring, ‘I’m not into coups!’ adding, ‘if I was going to do a coup, one of the last people I would want to do it with is General Mark Milley.’”
Once Colbert had finished laughing he said, “OK, you’ve clearly put some thought into this thing you’re ‘not into.’”
Watch Colbert’s full monologue from Thursday’s “Late Show,” including his first Donald Trump-name drop since the election, via the video above.