With only a handful of episodes left before The Late Show signs off permanently on May 21st, Stephen Colbert has shifted into a kind of fearless, nothing-to-lose gear. And if his May 4th monologue was any indication, he's planning to go out swinging.
The Gas Price Problem Nobody Can Ignore
Colbert opened by highlighting what he called the gap between Trump's promises and present-day reality. The president has been vocal about claiming he holds leverage over Iran amid the U.S.-Israel conflict in the region but back home, Americans are feeling the pinch at the pump in a very real way.
Gas averaging $4.48 a gallon is already a tough sell for an administration that campaigned on bringing prices down to $2. But add in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz one of the world's most critical oil shipping routes and the numbers start making a lot more political sense, even if they don't make economic life any easier for ordinary Americans.
"You've got to give it to President Trump," Colbert said. "He campaigned on $2 gas. And now he's delivering more than twice what he promised."
Trading Acronyms Like a Late-Night Pro
Colbert then dove into a bit that clearly delighted the studio crowd. A Wall Street trader, he explained, had originally believed the Strait of Hormuz crisis would blow over fast banking on something traders had started calling "TACO," or Trump Always Chickens Out. The idea being that Trump tends to back down before situations get truly dire.
But that theory aged poorly. So traders updated their thinking with a new acronym: "NACHO" Not A Chance Hormuz Opens.
Not to be outdone, Colbert offered his own contribution to the acronym pile: "CARNITAS Can Anyone Recommend a Nursing Home? I Think his A-brain Sploded." It was absurd, it was sharp, and it landed exactly the way Colbert intended.
The AI Jesus Image That Broke the Internet (Briefly)
The Iran monologue wasn't the only thing Colbert went after that week. He also took aim at a bizarre moment from April 12th, when Trump posted an AI-generated image to his Truth Social account depicting himself in a Jesus-like, almost supernatural pose somewhere between a religious figure and a Marvel character, as Colbert put it.
"I'm sure by now everyone has seen the AI slop that he posted, depicting himself as a cross between Jesus and Dr. Strange," Colbert told his audience.
The backlash was immediate and came from unexpected corners not just political opponents, but religious conservatives who have long been among Trump's most reliable supporters. The image was pulled down the very next day, but by then it had already spread widely across every corner of the internet, which Colbert noted with obvious amusement.
"Now people can only see it everywhere on the internet," he quipped.
Trump later tried to reframe the image, claiming it was meant to portray him as a doctor rather than a divine figure. That explanation didn't exactly quiet the conversation. Colbert, meanwhile, pulled up a headline showing that even committed Trump supporters were questioning whether the imagery crossed a theological line asking, in some corners, whether it carried darker symbolism.
Colbert's verdict? Delivered with a straight face, then a shake of the camera: "Yes. Yes he is." Followed quickly by, "I'm joking, I'm joking" in a tone that suggested he wasn't entirely joking.
Taking on the Pope Feud
Around the same time as the AI image controversy, Trump had also been publicly feuding with Pope Leo, who had spoken out against the ongoing war, calling it inhumane. Trump responded with a lengthy post attacking the Pope directly, calling him "WEAK on crime and terrible for Foreign Policy."
Colbert addressed this too, referencing an Italian religious historian's observation that not even Hitler or Mussolini had attacked the Pope so openly and publicly. Colbert's spin on that was characteristically dry: "It's never great when someone says, 'You should really be more discreet and respectful. You know, like Hitler.'"
The Internet Reacts
The clips made their predictable rounds online, with viewers weighing in enthusiastically. Reactions ranged from political ("Trump IS the Anti-Christ") to theological humor ("Jesus wore it better") to straight-up affection for the host himself. "Colbert is a national American treasure. Very rare," one viewer wrote. Others were already anticipating the loss of the show: "Oh Stephen, you will be sooooo missed."
With just weeks left on the air, it's clear the audience feels it too. Whatever one thinks of the politics, Colbert has built something genuinely rare in late-night a voice that's equal parts comedian, commentator, and, apparently, amateur theologian. And he's spending his final episodes making sure nobody forgets it.
Comments
Post a Comment