It’s usually not a great idea for a politician to try and go toe-to-toe with a comedian when it comes to jokes. It doesn’t matter the politician or the comedian, but it’s just generally advisable not to lash out at a comedian because it will probably just make you look worse. Of course, Donald Trump doesn’t really care if what he says or does makes him look “worse” in any way, or if it makes him look bad at all. So last week, when Colbert made headlines for some questionable comments about the president, Trump didn’t take it well. Which is about par for the course at this point, only it took a few days longer than usual for him to even respond to the comments.
For those who didn’t catch Trump’s rant in response to the joke, he went directly after Colbert’s nightly ratings — as anyone who pays attention to Trump’s favorite topics probably knew he would. In an interview with TIME, Trump said,
“You see a no-talent guy like Colbert. There’s nothing funny about what he says. And what he says is filthy. And you have kids watching. And it only builds up my base. It only helps me, people like him. The guy was dying. By the way, they were going to take him off television, then he started attacking me and he started doing better. But his show was dying. I’ve done his show. … But when I did his show, which by the way was very highly rated. It was high—highest rating. The highest rating he’s ever had.”
.@StephenAtHome only has one thing to say about being called a "no-talent guy." #LSSC pic.twitter.com/qWJKtuTSaY
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) May 12, 2017
Not only is that not true in a myriad of ways, it set Colbert up for a sweet comeback. During his show on Thursday, Colbert did exactly that and the gleeful exuberance in his clapback practically jumps through the screen. The host happily shouted,
“The president of the United States has personally come after me and my show—and there’s only one thing to say. Yay!”
Colbert got exactly what he wanted with this, and Trump got another lesson in life’s ongoing class in “Don’t Attack Comedians Unless Your Insult Is Really Really Good 101.” Whether he ever graduates from that class or not is yet to be seen.
