This Is the Best Late Night Joke About Trump Losing the Epstein Files Battle
On Monday, U.S. Representatives overwhelmingly voted to release the notorious Epstein files. The news was, to no one’s surprise, celebrated widely. These highly contentious documents are the subject of endless conspiracy theories and political infighting. Many people believe they will lead to revelations about the extent of the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein, a sex trafficker, and President Donald Trump. This news is certainly being mulled over solemnly and with trepidation in some spaces. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is not one of them. “When it comes to Congress, it's increasingly rare that things happen,” Colbert began his Tuesday night taping. “And uh, today something did, this afternoon. The House voted to release the Epstein files.”
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Colbert paused so that the entire audience could erupt into wild cheering. “That is the reaction of people who are not in the files,” Colbert remarked. His cheshire cat grin implied that he, too, was thrilled with the outcome of the vote.
Once the crowd settled down, Colbert provided some additional context about the release of the files. “In fact, it passed overwhelmingly 427 to one. Wow. Wait, wait, hold on. Wait. To one?” Colbert said. “Who was the one vote to keep them secret? Do we have a picture of the guy who voted against it?”
Up flashed an image of Trump himself in an unconvincing disguise of paper mustache and a MAGA hat with a sticky note on it that read “Not Trump.” The clearly edited photo set the crowd into hysterics again. “Of course, the vote doesn't mean the Epstein files will be released right away. The bill now has to go to the Senate where it may be amended,” Colbert explained. “And if it's passed there and amended, it would have to go back to the House where it has to cross over a river and under the bridge is a troll.”Colbert then got goofy, pitching his voice up to sound like the aforementioned bridge troll: “And to get by the troll, you have to answer his riddle: What walks on two cankles in the morning, rides a golf cart in the afternoon, and is totally in the Epstein files?”
Quality of the troll impression aside, Colbert’s delivery worked on multiple fronts. First, he deftly explained the stakes of the vote on Tuesday, giving everyone in the audience and at home a real chance to understand the situation. Then, the jokes took sharp aim: first at Congress then at Trump. After losing his show, Colbert has taken the gloves-off approach. We don't expect that to stop with further Epstein revelations.
