Stephen Colbert annotates the Donald Trump–John Lewis spat over MLK weekend

Stephen Colbert imitates Donald Trump tweeting
(Image credit: Late Show)

If you had Martin Luther King Jr. Day off, Stephen Colbert hopes you celebrated it the traditional way — "by sleeping in so you, too, could have a dream" — he joked at the beginning of Monday's Late Show. President-elect Donald Trump spent his day canceling a visit to the National African American Museum, Colbert noted, "although I guess in a way that might be good — the last thing we need is Trump learning more about segregation."

The big Trump news, of course, comes from his Twitter account. "Trump spent the weekend attacking civil rights icon John Lewis on Twitter," Colbert said, though "to be fair, Congressman Lewis kind of started it," telling NBC's Chuck Todd he doesn't consider Trump "a legitimate president," because Russia helped get him elected. Colbert read Trump's tweets. "Yes, well said — John Lewis is 'all talk, talk, talk," he said, "unlike a real leader like Trump, who's all tweet, tweet, tweet."

"So Trump spent the Martin Luther King weekend attacking a leader who marched and was beaten with Dr. King," Colbert said. "What's he going to do on Easter?" He imagined the Trump tweet: "Loser Jesus dead for 3 days and then we're supposed to believe he just wakes up? Fake news. I like gods who don't die. Where's the rebirth certificate?" Also: "Buddha, you're fat. You're a 6 at best."

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Colbert ended by noting that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is shutting down in May, after 146 years putting on "The Greatest Show on Earth" — and connecting that to Trump. "Apparently, the circus doesn't think it could compete against the Trump presidency," he said, poking Trump: "What with all the marriages, he does have three rings." Colbert noted the parallels between Trump and Barnum, including a late turn to politics and similarly titled books, then wrapped up: "And of course, though P.T. Barnum is famous for saying 'There's a sucker born every minute,' Donald Trump is famous for proving it." Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.