Go F*ck Yourself, Donald Trump, Says Stephen Colbert, Basically

By Dustin Rowles | Late Night TV | November 11, 2016 |

By Dustin Rowles | Late Night TV | November 11, 2016 |

The election of Donald Trump may have awoken the Dad in Stephen Colbert, and I don’t just mean the “Dad” jokes that seem to have become part of his late-night shtick. Colbert is disgusted, and afraid, and I think that while Sam Bee’s role over the next four years will be to go on the warpath, and that Seth Meyers will continue to elucidate everything wrong with a Trump administration clearly and compassionately. Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert seems to be taking on the role of Late Night Dad, the guy who says “No, it’s not going to be OK, but I’m going to do whatever is in my power to protect you.” I don’t know how I arrived at that conclusion based on last night’s monologue, but I did.

During last night’s show, Stephen Colbert ran down the frontrunners for Donald Trump’s cabinet, and it is every bit as terrifying as you knew it would be. He then turns to Omarosa, who suggests that Trump has an enemies list, and that those people will all have to “bow down” to their new leader. Colbert’s response to that is one of the more comforting moments of the last three days.

If you don’t have time to watch it all, jump to the last minute, where Colbert makes it known that no matter what happens over the next four years, he’s going to be here for us, fighting the good fight, highlighting the ails, and using his position in late night to speak truth to power. He doesn’t say any of this exactly, but the last 30 seconds of his monologue spells it out with a joke that says enough, and weirdly made me a little teary.