Stephen Colbert playfully called out his studio audience for pitying him after one joke about the Iran war received a lukewarm reaction.
During Wednesday’s monologue for “The Late Show,” the comedian weighed in on President Donald Trump’s recent attempt to pitch his war to the press, as he seemingly couldn’t decide what to call the conflict.
“It’s both [a war and an excursion]. It’s an excursion that will keep us out of a war,” Trump defended in the clip aired on “The Late Show.” “For them [Iran] it’s a war. For us, it’s, uh, turned out to be easier than we thought.”
In response to this unclear explanation from the president, Colbert channeled Trump’s speaking style and told his studio audience: “It’s a war, but it’s an excursion and it’s a shampoo while also being a conditioner. Keeps down the nuclear and the flakes.”
While a handful of people in the audience audibly laughed and applauded, the reaction didn’t appear to be what Colbert wanted, as he added, “Thank you. Thank you, smattering of applause.”
The studio audience responded to this quip by erupting into explosive cheers and applause, appearing to slightly embarrass the late night host in the process.
“No. No. No. No,” Colbert said as the cheers continued. “I don’t need your pity — I want it, but I don’t need it.”
Colbert’s studio audience has been particularly vocal this week. As we previously reported, Colbert’s Tuesday night monologue was briefly derailed after an audience member loudly shouted, “What?!” during a joke about Pete Hegseth’s spending.
“That’s what I think. ‘What?!’ Was that you? Did you say that out loud?” Colbert said in response to the surprise declaration. “Thank you for paying attention to the words I say, madam. Either that or you just woke up in this theater [like], ‘What? Not again.’”
Watch Colbert’s full monologue, in which he addresses the impact the war has had on oil prices and more, above.
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.
