“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert on Thursday used the destruction of the White House East Wing to deliver a timely reminder about something President Donald Trump doesn’t want to talk about.
Trump ordered the demolition of the East Wing, after initially vowing that it wouldn’t be touched, to make way for a massive $300 million ballroom he has been obsessing over.
But images of the destruction have caused outrage, so on Thursday the Secret Service blocked access to the Ellipse, where the media had been filming the demolition.
“Well, that makes sense,” Colbert said. “If none of it’s on camera, they can just claim the East Wing hanged itself in prison.”
The audience erupted at the joke, a reference to former Trump friend Jeffrey Epstein. This late sex offender was found dead in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on allegations of trafficking underage girls and other charges.
His death was ruled a suicide, but as Colbert’s joke and audience reaction make clear, many find it suspicious, especially given faulty cameras outside his cell and other questions.
Trump had vowed to release files related to the Epstein case, but hasn’t ― and now instead calls it a “Democrat hoax.”
See more about Trump’s East Wing destruction in Colbert’s Thursday night monologue:
