What do we know about Stephen Colbert’s surprise trip to Russia? He was there last week. He appeared on a Russian talk show and “announced” he was considering a run for president in 2020. And, as you may expect, it gave him even more opportunities to mock President Trump.
Tonight: Stephen is back from Russia to talk about the biggest story in America… Russia! #LSSC pic.twitter.com/mt2qEPojsP
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) June 27, 2017
Colbert, who arrived back in the United States on Sunday night, said the excursion took many months of planning; he and his crew shot 13-hour days and filmed about four or five segments. “The Russian people were lovely,” he said, adding that they visited “the most incredible locations.”
Naturally, Colbert also got in a few digs about Trump and the Russia investigation:
• “You know who did know I was in Russia? Russian intelligence. Hardcore fans, evidently, followed me everywhere. Also got some attention from American intelligence. … It’s important to keep your eye on a comedian while he’s in Russia doing jokes. I could be over there, I could be giving state secrets to the Russians. Oh, wait — someone’s already got that covered.”
.@realDonaldTrump Don't worry, Mr. President. I'm in Russia. If the "tapes" exist, I'll bring you back a copy! pic.twitter.com/v5flvAMtFY
— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) June 22, 2017
• “That’s me in front of St. Petersburg Winter Palace. Or as they call it, ‘Tsar-a-Lago.’ ”
• Colbert showed a clip of his guest appearance on Russian late-night show “Evening Urgant,” where he said, “I’m here to announce that I am considering a run for president in 2020. And I thought it would be better to cut out the middleman and just tell the Russians myself.”
• “Now to be clear, all I said in that little clip there was that I was considering a run. If I decide to run, obviously I’m not going to ask the Russians to help my campaign, okay? I would have my son-in-law ask them.”
• “Like President Trump, I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any other tapes of what I did in Russia. I did not personally make any such recordings. But I’m pretty sure my crew did.”
As a bonus, Colbert threw in some mockery about late-night TV:
• “While I was in St. Petersburg, I was a guest on the Russian late-night talk show ‘Evening Urgant.’ It’s hosted by the very talented Ivan Urgant. Ivan, I presume, is Russian for Jimmy.”
• “For those of you not familiar with late-night TV in Russia, it might seem a little foreign. Let me explain it to you. A white male host does some monologue jokes, then sits behind a desk to interview celebrities. It works over there somehow, I’m not sure.”
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