It’s no secret that Stephen Colbert isn’t a fan of Donald Trump, so it didn’t come as a huge surprise that he ripped into the president just 12 minutes into the 2017 Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 17.
During his opening monologue, the 53-year-old Late Show host, who helmed the ceremony, pointed out that The Celebrity Apprentice — which Trump, 71, hosted from 2008 to 2015 — was nominated for an Emmy in 2009, though it lost to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. “Why didn’t you give him an Emmy? If he had won an Emmy, I bet he wouldn’t have run for president,” Colbert quipped. “In a way, this is all your fault. I thought you people loved morally compromised antiheroes.”
Colbert then poked fun at the real estate mogul winning the 2016 presidential election despite losing the popular vote to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. “Unlike the presidency, Emmys go to the winner of the popular vote,” the late-night host said as the star-studded audience cheered.
“Of course what really matters to Donald Trump is ratings,” he continued. “You got to have the big numbers. And I certainly hope we achieved that tonight. Unfortunately at this point, we have no way of knowing how big our audience is. I mean is there anyone who can say how big the audience is? Sean, do you know?”
The camera then panned to former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who was standing at a podium. “This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period, both in person and around the world,” he said, spoofing the press conference in which he berated the media for accurately reporting the lackluster size of the crowd at Trump’s inauguration in January.
Colbert ended his monologue by thanking Melissa McCarthy, who won an Emmy this year for her portrayal of Spicer, 45, on Saturday Night Live. She watched the hilarious moment from the audience and grinned after the political aide’s brief appearance.
