Stephen Colbert from Comedy Centrals Variety Show "The Colbert Report" poses backstage with his awards for Outstanding Variety Series and Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles September 22, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (UNITED STATES Tags: ENTERTAINMENT) (EMMYS-BACKSTAGE) - RTX13W1W (REUTERS)
Stephen Colbert may crack a few jokes at President Donald Trump’s expense on Sunday when he hosts the 69th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
“We are storytellers: The story we are telling is what happened on television this year,” he told Variety in a story published this week. “It’s not a political monologue, but you can’t keep politics out of it, because politics was the biggest TV story this year.”
“The Late Show” host has frequently criticized the president -- but not everyone has found his quips funny. Below are some notable remarks Colbert has made about Trump.
“Homophobic” remark -- May 2017
Colbert came under fire after making a lewd joke about Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As part of a May 1 episode, Colbert included clips of Trump speaking with CBS journalist John Dickerson. In one, Trump said that he refers to "Face the Nation" as "Deface the Nation."
“Mr. Trump, your presidency? I love your presidency. I call it ‘Disgrace the Nation,’” Colbert said, launching into a rant.
He eventually made a R-rated joke about Putin and Trump that was accused of being homophobic, with critics using the hashtag #FireColbert on Twitter.
Colbert addressed the issue on the show May 3, explaining he had been “a little upset with Donald Trump for insulting a friend of mine.”
“So while I would do it again, I would change a few words that were cruder than they needed to be," he said. “Now, I’m not going to repeat the phrase. But I just want to say, for the record, life is short, and anyone who expresses their love for another person, in their own way, is, to me, an American hero. And I think we can all agree on that. I hope even the president and I can agree on that -- nothing else but that.”
Complaints over the May 1 broadcast poured into the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which said later that month that it had reviewed them and would not take action.
“Apology” to Trump -- June 2017
Colbert offered an “apology” as part of a June 26 episode.
The remark came after Trump had tweeted about alleged Russian meddling.
“There is no collusion & no obstruction,” Trump said in a tweet. “I should be given apology!”
“I’m a big enough man to apologize,” Colbert said. “And I believe I speak for the majority of Americans when I say this: I’m sorry you’re president.”
“Crazy but cruel” -- July 2017
In a July 26 episode, Colbert criticized Trump’s ban on transgender military service members, which he wrote about in a series of tweets.
“I began my day today like I often begin my days by checking Donald Trump’s Twitter feed to see how far the crazy has spread,” Colbert said. “And today, I really think he’s off his meds. Because, today, he went from crazy to cruel.”
Colbert also criticized Trump’s “Thank you” note that concluded the series of tweets.
“Thank you?” he said. “F--- you!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” -- August 2017
In an Aug. 15 show, Colbert tore into remarks Trump made earlier that day at a press conference in New York City. At the event, Trump spoke about violence that erupted at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
“I think there’s blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it, and you don’t have any doubt about it either,” Trump told reporters at the time.
“The only thing I’m doubting right now is whether you’re going to be president on Friday,” Colbert said. “Because what the hell are you talking about?”
Imitating Trump’s voice, he continued, “You know, one side hates minorities, the other side hates people who hate minorities. OK? Two sides. All right? It’s just like D-Day. Remember D-Day? Two sides. Allies and the Nazis. There was a lot of violence on both sides, OK?’”
Hurricane Harvey comments -- September 2017
Colbert spoke about the powerful storm in a Sept. 5 show, urging people to donate and praising relief workers. The joker called the hurricane “an unprecedented disaster,” and looked to his side, asking if the statement was correct.
“Speaking of unprecedented disasters,” he said, “Donald Trump.”
During the bit, Colbert repeated a passage from a Politico report which said the president “didn’t meet a single storm victim, see an inch of rain or get near a flooded street” during a late August trip to Corpus Christi, Texas.
COLBERT SLAMMED FOR CLAIMS TRUMP DID’NT MEET HARVEY VICTIMS
“The president wants to be very cautious about making sure that any activity doesn't disrupt the recovery efforts that are still ongoing,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders had said.
Trump’s early September trip to Texas was eventually brought up. While Colbert poked fun at how the president handed a bucket to a truck driver through a window -- instead of putting it in the truck bed -- he skipped over Trump meeting with victims.
Hitler salute -- September 2017
Colbert spoke about the president and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon in a Sept. 7 episode.
He played a clip of Bannon telling “60 Minutes” about how he defended Trump after the president commented on Charlottesville.
“I was the only guy that said, ‘He’s talking about something, taking it up to a higher level,’” Bannon said in the bit shown by Colbert.
“Yeah, he’s definitely taking it to a higher level,” Colbert quipped. “I’d say his support is about uh, about up there,” he said, doing a Nazi salute. “Right around here.”
Fox News’ Sasha Savitsky contributed to this report.
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