An indignant and at instances emotional Stephen Colbert condemned President Donald Trump as a “fascist” on Thursday night time, and known as Republican leaders like Senator Mitch McConnell “complicit” in Trump’s baseless makes an attempt to solid doubt on the election outcomes.

“We’re taping this just a bit whereas after Donald Trump walked into the White Home briefing room and tried to poison American democracy,” Colbert mentioned firstly of Thursday’s episode of The Late Present. In contrast to his normal monologues for the reason that coronavirus pandemic compelled his present to bear main manufacturing adjustments, the host was standing in entrance of his desk and carrying all-black garments.

“That’s why I’m not sitting down but. I simply don’t really feel prefer it but,” Colbert added. “That’s additionally why I’m dressed for a funeral. As a result of Donald Trump tried actually laborious to kill one thing tonight.”

On Thursday night time, talking from the White Home briefing room, Trump falsely mentioned, “In case you rely the authorized votes, I simply win. In case you rely the unlawful votes, they’ll attempt to steal the election from us.” The president’s speech was extensively denounced as dishonest, and all three main networks (CBS, NBC, and ABC) lower away from the deceitful remarks earlier than the president had even completed talking.

“The president got here out into the White Home briefing room and lied for 15 minutes,” Colbert mentioned. “Simply nonsensical stuff about unlawful vote dumps and corrupt election officers and secret Democratic counting cabals and, I don’t know, long-form beginning certificates, in all probability. It’s all the identical. And if you happen to didn’t know that Joe Biden was getting near 270, Donald Trump simply supplied all of the proof you’ll ever want.”

Trump has spent days sowing doubt concerning the election outcomes, which as of this writing have but to be finalized. However regardless of making groundless statements about voter fraud, the president has not supplied any proof of a broad conspiracy and native election officers in lots of states proceed to rely legally solid ballots to find out the winner.

Not that anybody needs to be stunned by his habits, Colbert identified. Trump has mentioned for years that he would solely imagine the end result of a presidential election if he emerged victorious. “I’ll completely settle for the outcomes of this nice and historic presidential election, if I win,” Trump mentioned in October of 2016 earlier than he defeated Hillary Clinton.

“All of us knew he would do that,” Colbert mentioned, earlier than pausing to gather his feelings. “What I didn’t know is that it might harm a lot. I didn’t count on this to interrupt my coronary heart. For him to solid a darkish shadow on our most sacred proper, from the briefing room within the White Home—our home, not his—that’s devastating.”

He added, “That is heartbreaking for a similar cause that I didn’t need him to get COVID, definitely why I needed him to outlive—as a result of he’s the president of the USA. That workplace means one thing and that workplace ought to have some shred of decency.”

Within the hours after Trump’s speech on Thursday night time, outstanding Republicans like Senator Lindsay Graham and Senator Ted Cruz stood behind the president’s mendacious statements. Their acceptance of Trump’s technique was seemingly a giant disappointment to Colbert, who throughout his monologue urged Republicans to talk up towards the president.