The Late Show went live on Tuesday night following President Donald Trump’s first official State of the Union address.
Host Stephen Colbert, whose nightly show is usually pre-taped a few hours before hitting the air, kicked off Tuesday night’s show with an edited version of Trump’s address, cutting together Trump’s words to say things such as “Donald Trump was never the solution for our country.”
“We are live and barely conscious following a 90-minute speech,” Colbert said as he took the stage. He went on to address some of the “heart-wrenching” moments from Trump’s speech, such as the families of gang violence victims and a North Korean defector being honored.
Tackling Trump’s comments about the disasters in Puerto Rico, Colbert noted, “That will be a touching message for the people of Puerto Rico once they have electricity to turn on their TVs.”
Speaking of Trump’s boast that African American unemployment is at an all-time low, Colbert quipped, “There was a time when African American unemployment was at zero, but only half of Trump’s base wants to go back there.” The comment earned a groan from the audience. “What?” Colbert asked. “I said half.”
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Riffing on Trump’s comments that “we are all share the same great American flag,” Colbert referenced the marches in Charlottesville from last year. “I saw at least two other flags from your supporters,” Colbert said.
Trump made comments about “clean, beautiful” coal during his speech, to which Colbert asked why he didn’t focus on other things that “don’t exist.” “Soon we will end our war on sasquatches, unicorns and moderate Republicans,” the host said.
As a show of an olive branch, Colbert said Trump also offered a bit of hope. “I’d like to an extend an open hand,” a clip of Trump showed, to which Colbert quickly interjected, “God, women, get out of there!”
Colbert similarly went live with this show on election night in November 2016 with guests such as Jeff Goldblum and now-disgraced former MSNBC news analyst, Mark Halperin.
The CBS host was not the only one in late night to go live following Trump’s address, as over on Comedy Central both Trevor Noah of The Daily Show and Jordan Klepper of The Opposition also had live specials focusing on the State of the Union.
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