Stephen Colbert on Trump tanking the US economy: ‘Experts call it the poop chute’
Late-night hosts discussed Trump’s trip to China with Elon Musk, Maga lies over the Iran war and manosphere trends
On Wednesday, late-night hosts discussed Donald Trump’s visit to China, Marty Makary’s resignation as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner and reports of Maga’s lies over the success of the Iran war.
Stephen Colbert
On the Late Show, Stephen Colbert focused on Trump’s trip to China accompanied by CEOs, including Tim Cook and Elon Musk.
“It is so satisfying to realize that no matter how rich or powerful you may be, there’s a chance you might get stuck on a plane with Elon Musk,” Colbert said.
On Truth Social, Trump said that he would be asking Xi Jinping to open up China so that these “brilliant people” can “work their magic”.
“Oh yes, these people can work magic,” laughed Colbert. “They’ve already made their taxes disappear.”
One of the issues hanging over what Colbert called Trump’s “fabulous billionaire boys trip” is the Iran war, which seems at an impasse, with one expert commenting that the conflict will cost US taxpayers $1tn.
“So what is America getting?” asked Colbert. “Well, less than we were promised because we just learned that Trump has been drastically overstating US military success in Iran.”
Recent intelligence reports show that Iran has retained about 70% of its pre-conflict missile stockpile and has restored access to 30 of 33 missile sites along the strait of Hormuz amid reports that the Pentagon is considering renaming the war “Operation Sledgehammer”.
“Operation Sledgehammer, bro?” shouted Colbert, parodying Maga. “OK, I’m back onboard. Take another trillion.”
The renaming seems like a play from the administration to get around the 1973 War Powers Resolution requirement that Congress authorize military action within 60 days, which could allow Trump to “restart the clock”.
“And the next one will be called ‘Operation And Just Like That’,” deadpanned Colbert, referencing the Sex and the City reboot. “It won’t have Samantha, so the clock starts again.”
The war has pushed the US economy into what Colbert jokingly said “financial experts call the poop chute”, with over two-thirds of Americans saying that the country seems out of control and 70% disapproving of Trump’s handling of the economy.
The host closed with remarks on manosphere wellness fads like “looksmaxxing” and “ballmaxxing”, in which men inject saline into their testicles to increase their size.
“Not only does it make walking a challenge, it also makes your penis seem very small,” said Colbert. “Kind of like dropping a baby carrot on to a bean bag chair.”
Seth Meyers
On Late Night, Seth Meyers joked that Trump’s recent tour of China’s historic Temple of Heaven is a trip that the US president has “taken a couple of times before, but both times doctors were able to revive him”.
This week, it was reported that Iran is much stronger than Trump claims, to which Meyers responded: “Oh, I can explain: he lies.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s plans to repaint the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool are said to be uneven and behind schedule. That’s because “he hired the same people who do his face”, Meyers joked.
He then turned to news that the FDA commissioner, Marty Makary, resigned this week after mounting pressure amid his opposition to Maga’s plan to authorize fruit-flavored vapes.
“Honestly, I’m surprised that a guy named Dr Marty was opposed to flavored vapes, that sounds like a brand of flavored vapes,” said Meyers.
Meanwhile, 80% of Americans believe that AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates, according to a new poll. “And keep in mind, that’s coming from people that are so old that they answer polls,” the host joked.
Finally, Meyers turned to social security data about the most popular baby names in 2025, with Olivia being the most chosen girl’s name and Liam being the most popular boy’s name. “And the most popular last name was Cannon,” he said, flashing up a picture of Nick Cannon, who has 12 kids.
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