On Tuesday evening, as U.S. President Donald Trump concluded his final State of the Union speech before the 2020 presidential election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was caught on camera ripping a copy of the leader’s speech in half.
Immediately following the State of the Union broadcast, Late Show host Stephen Colbert went live to cover the president’s annually televised speech.
“One thing I think we can all agree on is that the State of our Union was long. But finally, Trump ended the speech and Nancy Pelosi did this… She ripped him a new one,” Colbert said, before sharing a clip of the moment.
The act might explain how Pelosi felt ahead of the State of the Union speech after she was seen reaching out to shake Trump’s hand before the president began speaking. In Colbert’s words, Trump “threw shade” by turning away from Pelosi.
“Madame Speaker, next time, don’t offer your hand, just offer him one finger,” Colbert said.
The TV host’s quip-filled monologue began with him enjoying a glass of liquor.
“We felt what you just felt,” he said, referring to what he called Trump’s “awkward” speech. “We drank what you drank… only now we’re drunk at work.”
Before taking another swig, Colbert added: “I hope my boss doesn’t find out. Oh, wait — that’s me.”
“Tonight, Donald Trump addressed the folks who are still deciding his fate in the impeachment trial,” the TV host continued.
“It got a little awkward at times, and I’ll tell you all about it in very special edition of our segment, ‘Don and the Giant Imspeech.'”
“Once Donald Trump started talking, he touted the economy,” said Colbert, before sharing a clip of the U.S. leader.
“The years of economic decays are over,” Trump said during the State of the Union speech.
“But the years of mental decay have just begun,” Colbert joked, doing his best Trump impression.
“Where is Kansas City? Where is Missouri? I’ll never know,” he continued, poking fun at Trump’s erroneous and since-deleted tweet in which he congratulated the Kansas City Chiefs for winning Super Bowl LIV on Sunday, saying the NFL team hailed from the “Great State of Kansas,” rather than Missouri, where the team is actually based.
Colbert proceeded to mock Trump’s future infrastructure plan for the U.S.
In a clip of his speech, the president said: “I am also committed to ensuring that every citizen can have access to high-speed internet, including and especially—”
“Pornography,” Colbert interjected, again in his Trump impression. “I’ll send you guys some links.”
“That’s not what he said,” the host admitted before playing the rest of the clip, in which Trump said: “I am also committed to ensuring that every citizen can have access to high-speed internet, including and especially in rural America.”
The TV host took the opportunity to call back to Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses, the results of which were hampered by technical difficulties that led to delays and confusion during the Democratic Party’s caucus.
“To which Iowa replied: ‘That would have been handy yesterday,'” Colbert said.