Newsbusters: Colbert Suggests It Will Take Years To Rebuild Democracy After Trump
CBS’s Stephen Colbert mourned on Tuesday’s edition of The Late Show that it will take several years to rebuild democracy after President Trump leaves office. Colbert’s lamentations came as Trump addressed sailors onboard the USS George Washington in Japan, which led him to also express confusion at the idea that the Navy stands ready to sink enemy ships.
After a clip of Trump telling the sailors that he might send the National Guard to more cities, Colbert declared, “He’s telling the military he’s going to use them to invade America, but just a warning to the troops: that country is run by a madman, okay? It will take you years to install a democracy at this point.”
The man who once mocked politics has now decided he’s the guardian of “democracy.” Stephen Colbert, from his Manhattan pulpit, now warns that once President Trump leaves office, it will take years to “rebuild democracy.” Years! Because nothing says “defender of democracy” like a millionaire late-night host lecturing sailors—indirectly—about how confused they are for serving their own Commander-in-Chief.
Let’s unpack the absurdity. While Trump was addressing sailors aboard the USS George Washington—yes, the actual military capital of freedom—Colbert was declaring that America is some shattered republic clawing out from tyranny. Apparently, ordering troops to be “ready” now offends him. You’d think the Navy’s purpose—readiness to defend the nation—was new information to CBS writers.
What exactly does he think the Navy does? Sew TikTok merch? Run sensitivity seminars? The whole tirade reeks of performative panic: the same brand of politics-as-entertainment that has turned late-night into a therapy session for people allergic to reality.
Colbert used to dissect hypocrisy; now he models it. His lament over “installing democracy” is ironic, considering his own audience cheers on censorship, mock trials in the court of Twitter, and the erasure of political opponents from public life. If democracy needs “rebuilding,” maybe it’s because people like Colbert keep trying to burn half the country’s voice down.