Stephen Colbert uses his hand as a phone to illustrate a point
As long as political stories keep unfolding, Stephen Colbert will find a way to use imaginary props, and last night’s was a phone.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert missed perhaps the biggest story of last night — the New York Times‘ further reporting about James Comey — but, as Seth Meyers illustrated Wednesday, that doesn’t mean that he had nothing to talk about.
Although it appears as though the show’s official YouTube channel has not uploaded the entire monologue as of this writing, a significant portion of it is available.
Check out the first part below. The language is pretty much safe for work, although there is an oblique reference to one swear word in particular:
Vox published the story Colbert cites above after 10 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday night. It does, however, explain some of the differences between the “special counsel,” Robert Mueller, himself a former FBI director, and other terms used recently like “independent prosecutor.” As Colbert himself points out, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller. The Times also reported on May 17 about the further twist in the story of Michael Flynn.
Also, the song he’s singing while driving his imaginary bus? That’s “Electric Avenue,” just with some new words.
Here’s part two, and here’s where the imaginary phone comes out:
The meta-commentary about the Apple Store calling Colbert’s fake congressman on his hand-phone is patently ridiculous in the very best way. (Shouldn’t he have taken the call on his smartwatch instead? But who are we to question things like this in the name of comedy?) Quartz rounded up tweets from reporters at outlets like Politico and the Independent Journal Review for its story.
Meanwhile, the Times story Colbert uses for his mention of Jason Chaffetz, a Utah representative, is actually a quick catchup of some recent developments.
Next: Meyers recaps the past eight days
Colbert has one more show this week, airing tonight on CBS.