“When I saw the events at the Capitol last Wednesday, I was more upset than I can ever remember,” said Late Show host Stephen Colbert on Monday night. “Yeah, [9/11] is the most horrible day in America’s history. But I want to point out: No Americans were cheering for the terrorists back then! No-one was making excuses for the terrorists! No-one was pretending that they weren’t terrorists!”
Last week’s attack on the Capitol was a significant and devastating moment for the United States. Trump supporters’ violent attempt to overturn the election results was one of the strongest threats to America’s democracy yet.
Yet, as laid out by a thunderously furious Colbert on Monday, further details have revealed the attempted coup was somehow even worse than it initially appeared. Pipe bombs were found at the DNC and RNC buildings. Eleven Molotov cocktails were found in one man’s car. Video even captured the crowd calling for Vice President Mike Pence to be hanged. Five people died because of the siege, but it could easily have been so many more.
“The terrorists who stormed the Capitol weren’t just a bunch of yahoos fed a steady diet of lies, vape juice, and Monster energy drink,” said Colbert. “This was a coordinated and planned attempt to terrorize, if not kill, our nation’s elected leaders.”
“And if any of you out there think it’s wrong to call these people terrorists, consider this: You’re wrong,” Colbert continued, referencing a report that some Republicans didn’t vote to certify Joe Biden’s win because they feared for their family’s safety. “They capitulated to armed violent extremists. That’s the GOP’s new motto: We don’t negotiate with terrorists. We just give them what they want.”