Stephen Colbert thinks it’s stupid of Meta to let Donald Trump have access once again to Facebook and Instagram. In fact, during his monologue on Thursday’s “The Late Show,” Colbert said it’s like a parole board not only letting an unrepentant serial killed go free, but also arming them.
You know by now that on Wednesday, Meta announced Trump would be allowed back, and Colbert set about dismantling their justifications for doing so. Trump was, of course, kicked off both Instagram and Facebook for posts related to his attempt to overthrow the government. Quoting Meta’s claim that “our determination is that the risk … to public safety .. has sufficiently receded,” Colbert mocked how willfully blind that sounds.
“The risk has receded ’cause he’s been gone!” Colbert said. “You know, between knife thrusts, Jack the Ripper is a pretty chill dude,” Colbert added.
“Give him the knife back,” Colbert joked.
He continued along those lines, noting that despite Meta’s claim Trump no longer poses a threat, “the man is still on social media spreading the same lies that got people killed.” As proof of this, Colbert cited a post Trump did on his Truth Social app where he falsely claimed he won Georgia in 2020 and called that year’s plebiscite a “rigged and stolen election.”
“And Meta is letting him back,” Colbert said incredulously. “I’m glad they don’t run probation hearings. So, inmate 7214, so you say after 10 years of incarceration you would do it again in a heartbeat? You’re free to go, here’s the home address of everyone who’s ever wronged you and your chainsaw. We kept it oiled, have fun.”
Colbert was also skeptical of Meta’s claim that the company will place “new guardrails” to ensure Trump doesn’t use Facebook or Instagram to incite violence as he did before being kicked off in 2021. “That’s not gonna work. Have they forgotten what the former president’s supporters do with guardrails?” Colbert asked as photos of the Jan. 6 insurrection displayed onscreen.
There’s plenty more of course — for instance, while the first half of the monologue focused on Trump — and a little of Joe Biden too — the second focused on George Santos. You can watch the whole thing above.