--- title: Stephen Colbert Late Show Donald Trump: See First Episode description: Stephen Colbert made up for his absence with a slew of Trump-related quips on the premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Tuesday. canonical: https://time.com/4026195/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-late-show/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-09T12:09:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:32:26.146Z og:title: Stephen Colbert Late Show Donald Trump: See First Episode og:description: Stephen Colbert made up for his absence with a slew of Trump-related quips on the premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Tuesday. og:url: https://time.com/4026195/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-late-show/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3c4a2a9f1c16d80/698862aee20a87d9e9a8d1e2/gettyimages-484098176.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: TCA Summer Press Tour 2015 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stephen Colbert Late Show Donald Trump: See First Episode twitter:description: Stephen Colbert made up for his absence with a slew of Trump-related quips on the premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Tuesday. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3c4a2a9f1c16d80/698862aee20a87d9e9a8d1e2/gettyimages-484098176.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stephen Colbert Goes All Out on Donald Trump Jokes > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a53dfcac-a21c-4a69-970a-36b706a06576&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Late Night Highlight: Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Looked Pretty Familiar [Watch (HLS stream): Late Night Highlight: Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Looked Pretty Familiar](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZNmLpZOw.m3u8) (1:00)  _Published 2015-09-09. Even though Stephen Colbert shed his 'Colbert Report' character for his new 'Late Show' hosting gig, a lot of the show looked pretty familiar._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 9, 2015 12:09 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 9, 2015 12:09 PM UTC Without a television show for the past eight months, Stephen Colbert has had little platform for jokes about billionaire presidential candidate Donald Trump. The comedian made up for his absence with a slew of [Trump-related quips](http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/news/1004684/watch-stephen-colbert-discuss-donald-trump-and-oreos-on-the-late-show/) on the premiere of _The Late Show with Stephen Colbert_ Tuesday. “Just like the rest of the media, I will be covering all the presidential candidates… who are Donald Trump,” joked Colbert. In one joke, Colbert took on Trump’s claim that he has the expertise to build a wall on the border with Mexico. Colbert suggested that Trump build a series of his signature towers and knock them on their side to serve as a wall. In another, he poked fun at Trump’s response to a question about apparent support the candidate has from white supremacists. Trump responded to a question about his controversial supporters saying “a lot of people like me.” “Yes, everybody likes Trump, even white supremacists, which is amazing because Trump isn’t even white,” Colbert said. “He’s more Oompa-Loompamerican.” Throughout the segment, Colbert snacked on Oreos, likening his inability to resist the unhealthy snack to an inability resist going after Trump. “I don’t need to play a tape of you to have a successful TV show,” Colbert said. “Someone on television should have a modicum of dignity and it could be me.” ## Transcript Stephen Colbert finally made his return to the small screen by taking over The Late Show, Tuesday night. And even though he shed his Colbert Report character, a lot of the show looked pretty familiar. Just like the rest of the media, I will be covering all of the presidential candidates. Who are Donald Trump. The red, white, and blue color scheme and over the shoulder graphic looked a lot like Colbert's old show on Comedy Central. And the first episode of Colbert's Late Show was pretty heavy on politics. Especially since Jeb Bush was the second guest. So exactly what was the difference between the Late Show and the Colbert Report? He told the Daily Beast in February, for the record, I'm not in character. This is me. It turns out the real Stephen Colbert had a beard the whole time. I was just so deeply in character for ten years you didn't notice. You have more pictures of yourself than I thought you would have had. There are a lot of pictures of me in here. I used to play a narcissistic conservative pun, but now I'm just a narcissist. [ INAUDIBLE ] This is the first episode so the show might deviate from the Colbert Report vive in time. 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