Stephen Colbert thinks there’s something familiar about Donald Trump — the GOP presidential frontrunner is a lot like the conservative character Colbert made popular on Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report.”
“He’s my old character with $10 billion,” Colbert said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “He’s completely playing on an emotional level, and so beautifully. I mean, that’s one of the reasons why I just can’t do that old character anymore, because he’s doing it better than I ever could because he’s willing to drink his own Kool-Aid. And manufacture and distribute it because he’s got all the cash.”
The “Late Show” host made his comments during a sit-down with fellow CBS host John Dickerson. Colbert also pointed out that Trump doesn’t let facts get in the way of his message.
“I have a respect for Trump for knowing who the real audience is. That if you really wanna win you gotta get the people,” he said. “The people get to make the call. Especially now because the parties are so beholden to big money. That the party apparatus itself has been dismantled in favor of just cash. And so there aren’t, you know, wise old people who get to make the call because that’s been farmed out to super PACS who don’t seem to be that powerful themselves really, but in giving the power over to the super PACS they’ve actually completely defanged the party themselves.”
Watch the “Face the Nation” interview below.
15 Times Donald Trump Courted Controversy (Photos)
The U.S. Justice Department accused Trump of not renting to minority tenants in 1973.
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Trump was accused of dooming the fledgling U.S. Football League in 1984 when he insisted it go head to head with the NFL with a fall game schedule.
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Trump sparked a feud with Rosie O'Donnell in 2006, calling the comedian "disgusting" and "a slob," among other things
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In September 2010, Trump accused the imam of a proposed mosque near NYC's Ground Zero of using religion to bargain for a better real estate price.
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Joining the dubious "birther" movement, Trump fought to get President Obama to release his long-form birth certificate in April 2011.
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Trump earned the ire of environmentalists when he unveiled plans for a massive golf course in Scotland in July 2012.
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Trump upset gay rights groups when he compared gay marriage to golf in February 2013.
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In August 2013 Trump was the subject of a civil suit for allegedly false promises made to students of his Trump University.
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A new waterfront Chicago skyscraper opened in 2014 despite widespread complaints about the 20-foot-high sign bearing his name.
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Trump began a feud with Russell Brand after seeing the British comedian on a talk show and disliking what he saw.
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Trump minced no words when he tweeted about the "thugs" rioting in Baltimore in April 2015 following the death of an African American man in police custody.
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Announcing his bid for the GOP nomination in June 2015, Trump set off a media firestorm when he called Mexican immigrants criminals and "rapists."
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Trump reportedly paid actors $50 a head to attend his presidential announcement speech in June 2015.
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Billionaire’s recent public image problems are latest in long line of troubles
The U.S. Justice Department accused Trump of not renting to minority tenants in 1973.