“Sometimes you feel like Donald Trump is corrupting all of the democratic institutions that we hold dear,” Stephen Colbert said during his opening monologue on “The Late Show” Tuesday night. “Well, I’ve got some good news for you: You’re not crazy to feel that way.”
Colbert was talking about the latest news involving “Trump crony and man voted best-dressed at Nuremberg, Roger Stone.”
Stone was convicted of multiple felonies in 2019, among them lying under oath, forging documents, and a “relentless and elaborate campaign” to silence witnesses that included threats of physical harm. Prosecutors initially recommended a sentence of 7-9 years, but this week Donald Trump tweeted that Stone’s conviction and possible sentence is “a horrible and very unfair situation.”
About that, Colbert joked that he didn’t understand why Trump is so upset, since “all Stone needs to do is roll doubles, or just pay 50 bucks,” a reference to the board game “Monopoly” as, Colbert noted, Stone looks like the game’s mascot. Then he mentioned how on Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced it had revised sentencing guidelines for Stone, a decision Colbert sarcastically called “an impossible coincidence.”
“So Donald Trump and his Attorney General are using the Justice Department to go easy on his cronies,” Colbert joked. “The only difference between this, and a banana republic, is that Trump does not eat fruit.” Zing!
Watch the whole thing below:
TONIGHT: Trump helps his friend Roger Stone get off easy. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/jwUKQyIBaH
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) February 12, 2020