Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump roasted by Stephen Colbert for fraud trial rant

The Late Show host poked fun at Trump for his long list of grievances with his civil fraud trial

Amelia Neath
Friday 12 January 2024 13:17 GMT
Comments
Related video: Trump in court

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Stephen Colbert mocked Donald Trump saying he “lost his s***” during the closing arguments at his New York civil fraud trial.

With the months-long civil fraud case against Mr Trump, his sons and chief associates at the Trump Organization wrapping up, the former president didn’t pass up the opportunity to launch into a rapid-fire tirade against the case in court.

Mr Trump had been adamant about delivering the closing statement in his defence.

The move was previously denied by Judge Arthur Engoron, before he granted Mr Trump another chance – on the condition that he did not speak on matters irrelevant to the case.

But, Mr Trump ended up plunging into a long-winded statement, claiming he should be paid damages for what he has gone through – calling the case a “fraud on me.”

Hours later,The Late Show host teased Mr Trump, who has $370m on the line and will potentially never be able to do business in New York again.

“We don’t know how much he’s gonna lose [in the trial]; all we know is that today in court, he lost his s***,” Mr Colbert said on Thursday night.

Mocking the Republican presidential nominee, Mr Colbert launched into his own version of Mr Trump’s breathless-sounding statement.

Stephen Colbert roasted Donald Trumps closing argument tirade in civil trial
Stephen Colbert roasted Donald Trumps closing argument tirade in civil trial (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

“Look, your crooked honour. This is a plot by Crooked Joe. Crooked Joe, Joe Rogan, Hogan’s Heroes, meatball hero, meatball Ron, da doo ron ron, da bill barr barr, Bilbo Baggins, bag of rice, paella, Spain, Don Quixote.

“Tilting at windmills. A lot of people are saying windmills are turning our whales gay. Whatever happened to Wayne Newton?” Mr Colbert joked.

At one point in the closing arguments, the real Mr Trump fired back at the judge for giving him a time check.

“You can’t listen for more than one minute,” he quipped, prompting the judge to remind Mr Trump’s attorneys to keep control of their client.

Trump’s civil fraud case came to a close on Thursday and faces a potential from doing buisness in New York
Trump’s civil fraud case came to a close on Thursday and faces a potential from doing buisness in New York (Getty Images)

Mr Colbert mimicked the former president for this moment – acting out his distinct hand gestures.

“They can’t control me. Nobody can. You can’t tie me down I’m like the wind. Whatever happened to windmills? Why don’t they turn our whales gay anymore? I blame crooked Wayne Newton,” the show host blabbered, poking fun at Mr Trump’s past baseless claims about wind turbines.

The closing statements mark the civil fraud trial coming to a close after 11 weeks of hearings that overlapped with a string of other court cases and his campaign efforts.

A verdict will be handed down by the end of the month – which could potentially see the former president lose millions and be barred from business in New York, the state where his family built its real estate legacy.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in