Whether or not Donald Trump understands the definition of the word “coup” is up for debate. That he incited one on January 6, 2021 is not. And while Stephen Colbert has preferred not to speak the Orange One’s name since the former president shuffled off to Florida ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration earlier this year, there are moments and situations that call for Colbert to lift his moratorium. This week provided one of them.
Earlier this week, portions of a new book, Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker’s I Alone Can Fix It, were published by New York Magazine. One of the biggest bombshells was that chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley was alarmed enough by Trump’s behavior during his final days in office that Milley sounded the alarm to his colleagues. According to Leonnig and Rucker, Milley “believed Trump was stoking unrest, possibly in hopes of an excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act and call out the military,” leading Milley to issue a warning that: “This is a Reichstag moment.”
While Colbert had no problem declaring that “Donald Trump is a fascist,” what he really wanted to talk about was Trump’s public response to these claims—which somehow managed to read like a rejected letter sent to Penthouse Forum.
“Clearly the forum president didn’t like the tea that Milley spilly, because earlier today the ex-pres released a statement declaring, ‘I’m not into coups!’ Adding: ‘If I was going to do a coup, one of the last people I would want to do it with is General Mark Milley.’
Ok, you’ve clearly put some thought into this thing you’re ‘not into.’ ‘Honey, come on, I’m not into three-ways. But if I was, I wouldn’t do it with our neighbor Alice. Your sister is way hotter.’”
You can watch the full clip above.
