Stephen Colbert does an annotated dramatic re-enactment of Trump's colorful New York Times interview

Stephen Colbert reads Trump's interview with The New York Times
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show With Stephen Colbert)

Stephen Colbert kicked off Thursday's Late Show not with President Trump, but rather the news that O.J. Simpson was granted parole. He made some wry comments about O.J. and murder, then turned the monologue toward Trump. "Say what you want about O.J., he never met with [Russian Ambassador] Sergey Kislyak — unlike his buddy here," Colbert said, showing a photo of Simpson and Trump in happier days. "That was back in 1993, when it was still a coin toss which one of those guys would be president and which one would end up in jail." Colbert said he was surprised that Trump has only been president six months — it seems much longer — and turned to Trump's freewheeling interview with The New York Times.

Colbert, of course, had quite a bit of fun reading excerpts of Trump's Times interview — the "bad people" Trump knows, his triumphs (and hand-holding) in France and Poland, and his impression that his English-speaking G-20 dinner neighbor, Japanese first lady Akie Abe, doesn't speak English. "Sir, I think she was faking it," he said. Colbert arched an eyebrow at Trump's warning to special counsel Robert Mueller that investigating Trump's finances would be a "violation." "Oh, that's not a red flag at all," he said, noting that it also didn't work. That gave him an idea: "Mr. Trump, could you please warn Mueller not to subpoena your taxes?"

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.