Stephen Colbert on Trump’s Epstein controversy: ‘Desperately looking for a scapegoat’ | Late-night TV roundup

Late-night hosts dig into Donald Trump’s rising nervousness over the Jeffrey Epstein information and his beef with the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell.Stephen ColbertOn Thursday night, Stephen Colbert introduced that the Late Present would finish in Could 2026, owing to a call by the CBS mum or dad firm, Paramount. Although Paramount mentioned the choice was “purely monetary”, the cancellation comes simply three days after Colbert overtly criticized the corporate for settling a lawsuit with Donald Trump for $16m.The settlement coincided with Paramount looking for approval from the Trump administration for an $8.4bn merger with Skydance Media. Colbert known as the settlement “an enormous fats bribe”.In a separate message to viewers on Thursday, Colbert mentioned he was knowledgeable of the choice the night time earlier than. “Yeah, I share your emotions,” he mentioned because the viewers booed.“It’s not simply the tip of the present, it’s the finish of the Late Present on CBS. I’m not being changed, that is all simply going away,” he added. “Let me let you know, it’s a implausible job. I want another person was getting it. And it’s a job I’m wanting ahead to doing with this ordinary gang of idiots for one more 10 months.”Throughout his monologue, Colbert centered on the Jeffrey Epstein controversy consuming the White Home, and “inflicting a lot hassle for Trump that he not too long ago ordered it to be put in a cell and for the cameras to cease working for 3 minutes”.“Maga is livid as a result of they suppose Trump is refusing to launch the Epstein information,” he defined. “In response, Trump has been saying that there are not any credible information, and if there are, they’re actually boring, and likewise Obama made them up.“That half is true, and you may learn them on Obama’s annual summer season Epstein consumer checklist,” he joked.“As loopy as it’s, Trump goes all in on the concept that his followers have fallen for a nefarious Democratic scheme.” As Trump mentioned within the Oval Workplace on Wednesday: “Sure Republicans acquired duped by the Democrats, they usually’re following the Democrat playbook.”“That’s ridiculous – the Democrats have by no means had a playbook,” Colbert joked. “It’s improv, child!“Trump is desperately on the lookout for a scapegoat,” so on Wednesday, he fired the Manhattan prosecutor who dealt with the Epstein case and “pulled the Uno reverse card”, calling on the FBI to research “this Jeffrey Epstein hoax”.“By which he evidently means he needs the FBI to research the oldsters who investigated Jeffrey Epstein’s intercourse trafficking,” Colbert mentioned, “which is bizarre, however we might get an entire new spinoff of To Catch a Predator.”Seth MeyersTrump “is underneath a variety of stress from all this Epstein stuff. Even his most devoted supporters are trashing him and demanding solutions,” mentioned Seth Meyers on Thursday’s Late Night time earlier than clips of quite a few Republicans demanding solutions and even calling for an unbiased particular counsel.In an interview with a far-right media community, Trump known as the Epstein information a “rip-off” that’s “all put out by Democrats, a few of the naive Republicans fall proper into line like they at all times do”.“Fall in keeping with what?” an exasperated Meyers requested. “Democrats didn’t say a phrase. Your personal supporters are those who spent years demanding the information and obsessing over the Epstein case, which was a really actual legal case involving a really actual particular person, and now you’re the one fanning the flames of the conspiracy by calling all of it a hoax. I swear we’re like a day away from Trump claiming Jeffrey Epstein was by no means even an actual particular person.”Meyers additionally homed in on the far-right interviewer who validated Trump with “they positively set the Republicans up.”“Set them up how?!” he implored. “We’ve been asking this query all week: how did they arrange the Republicans? They made up pretend Epstein information, then stored these pretend information secret, then satisfied your complete Maga base to spend years demanding the discharge of these information, then knew they might lose the election to Trump, who would then refuse to launch the information they made up? You folks all must take a fucking dementia take a look at.”The Every day Present“Everyone knows President Trump has spent the final two weeks in a wrestling match with the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein,” mentioned Jordan Klepper on the Every day Present. “However he’s been combating the final six months with a way more alive particular person: Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. And boy does Trump hate the man.”Klepper performed a sequence of clips through which Trump known as Powell a “silly particular person”, an “common, mentally, particular person. I’d say low at what he does” and a “numbskull … you discuss to the man and it’s like speaking to nothing. It’s like speaking to a chair.”“Yeah! No matter occurred to all of our thrilling, dynamic Federal Reserve chairs?” Klepper joked.“The way in which Trump talks about him, you’d suppose they caught him at a Coldplay live performance with Trump’s spouse,” he added. “However at its coronary heart, it is a beef about economics. Trump needs to decrease rates of interest to assist juice the financial system, however Jerome Powell is answerable for setting these rates of interest, and he refuses to decrease them as a result of he’s fearful that can improve inflation. And nothing, nothing makes Trump angrier than somebody doing their job properly.”In one other clip, Trump blasted Joe Biden for nominating Powell. Besides … Klepper lower to a clip of Trump nominating Powell in 2017, calling him “sturdy,” “dedicated” and “sensible”.“Rattling, Joe Biden appears fats as shit,” Klepper joked. “But additionally, I get it. I’m additionally attempting desperately to overlook all the pieces that occurred throughout Trump’s first time period.”