“I know we’re all getting numb to the Trump presidency, it’s a natural defense mechanism,” Stephen Colbert said in his Late Show monologue Wednesday night.
Then he asked his audience to really let these words “sink in” for a moment: “A porn star is suing the president.”
Yes, it was late the night before that the host learned “porn star and I’m gonna guess future chief of staff” Stormy Daniels was suing President Trump, asserting that he did not sign the so-called “hush agreement” about their alleged affair. “She’s proven she can handle the staff,” he joked.
Colbert reminded viewers that Daniels—birth name: Stephanie Clifford—received $130,000, furnished by Trump’s personal fixer/lawyer Michael Cohen, just before the 2016 election, purportedly so she would stay quiet about their tryst. “I don’t know why,” he said. “If I were her, I’d keep that secret for free.”
The part of the story that seemed to shock Colbert the most is that Trump didn’t just sign the agreement himself.
“This is the thing Trump thought was too sketchy to put his name on?” he asked in disbelief. “What about Trump University? Or Don Jr.?”