Stephen Colbert Doubles Down, Attacks Trump On Firing of Comey

One might think that once the smoke settled over Stephen Colbert making derogatory remarks about President Donald Trump, the Late Show host might have kept his head down on the matter for at least a moment. One would be wrong. Despite inciting a wave of media criticism and social media response which saw #CancelColbert and #FireColbert trending for a time, Colbert went at it again with another scathing rant on Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey.

It was on last night’s edition of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that the politically charged host took aim at the President with a lengthy shot at how Trump set the firing of James Comey into motion. Some of the highlights of the segment saw Colbert hitting Trump with accusations of reaction to the alleged investigation into the President’s ties with Russia and a ridicule of the claim that Comey’s firing was entirely prompted by his handling of FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton.

“What it seems like he’s doing, is exactly what he’s doing,” Colbert argued in the matter of Trump’s motive. “There’s no grand strategy. He’s not some wizard playing three-dimensional chess. There’s nothing deeper going on.”

This particular stance points heavily to the belief by Trump supporters in 2016’s election that the then-candidate was observable as candid and off-the-cuff in his action and speech. It also ridicules a certain selection of supporters who have, in the past, claimed Trump to be strategic and playing a deeper game than what might appear on the surface.

Colbert didn’t stop at Trump either. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein came under fire as the Late Show host dubbed them “The Department of Justification” in response to reports, such as that by Politico, that Trump had been looking for a reason to fire Comey for a week or more. Fox News also came under fire for their part in initially breaking the story under the headline “James Comey Resigns.”

Colbert is hardly the only one raising an eyebrow or calling foul at the timing and motive behind Trump’s firing of Comey, even among late night talk shows that took aim at the topic, as pointed out by the New York Times. That said, he might be the boldest. It was only a little more than a week before that Stephen Colbert himself came under fire for the rant he made on Trump’s first hundred days in office, in which he hurled insult after insult at the 45th President for Trump’s ridicule of fellow CBS employee John Dickerson.

“In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s c*** holster.”

The above line drew the ire of many critics in both professional and social media, claiming that Colbert had gone too far and must be punished for it. The outrage saw #FireColbert as one of the top trending phrases on Twitter for quite a few hours the following day. Colbert himself would comment only a few days later, not only standing behind his decision but saying he would do it again given the opportunity.

As for Trump, he too has doubled down on his rhetoric for firing James Comey. As has become commonplace when there is a hot topic regarding his administration, the President took to his personal Twitter to comment on the response to firing Comey.

Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017

Trump continued to post throughout May 10, 2017, on the matter while various outlets criticized or questioned the decision and motive around the firing of Comey. For better or worse, the President appeared to remain on the defensive.

Whether or not CBS officials choose to do anything or not about Colbert’s heavily inflammatory attacks on Trump on May 1 – it would appear no action has been taken – the always-heavy-handed host of the Late Show doesn’t seem to be daunted by the harsh response of his critics. Trump’s firing of Comey is worth the consideration of every pundit out there, and it’s hardly something Stephen Colbert of all people would fail to address.

[Featured Image by Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images]