'Demand better lies': Watch Stephen Colbert's incredible rant about 'insulting' Iran briefing
Stephen Colbert began the Late Show on Thursday night "irked" about Donald Trump's increasingly limp rationale for killing Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
The latest development saw actual bipartisan disgust with the White House's briefing on their intelligence justifying the strike on Soleimani, which Democrats and at least two Republican Senators condemned for its lack of information, patronising treatment of lawmakers, and open discouragement of debate on military action. Utah GOP Senator Mike Lee called it "insulting" and "demeaning" to both senators and to the Constitution in a press appearance that went viral on Wednesday.
"Damn right, Mike. You might be a Republican [but] Senator, I'm going to ruin your political career right now by agreeing with you," said Colbert wryly, to cheers. "This is insulting not just to Congress, but to the American people."
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Colbert noted the similarities to flimsy justifications for the war in Iraq in 2003, but joked that "back then, George W. Bush respected us enough to put some effort into his lies."
"I say before we give the president authority to attack another Middle Eastern country, we must demand better lies!" said Colbert, channelling an almost vaudeville energy. "We deserve better lies!"
"Dazzle and deceive us! Sell it with some sizzle! Scare the shit out of us! But just try!"
Topics Donald Trump Politics
Caitlin is Mashable's Australian Editor. She has written for The Guardian, Junkee, and any number of plucky little music and culture publications that were run on the smell of an oily rag and have since been flushed off the Internet like a dead goldfish by their new owners. She also worked at Choice, Australia's consumer advocacy non-profit and magazine, and as such has surprisingly strong opinions about whitegoods. She enjoys big dumb action movies, big clever action movies, cult Canadian comedies set in small towns, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Replacements, smoky mezcal, revenge bedtime procrastination, and being left the hell alone when she's reading.
