--- description: Stephen Colbert thinks the Republican vice presidential nominee may have outdone his running-mate. title: Colbert Trolls Trump By Heaping Praise on Mike Pence image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e7dcdcbbd4f39a2/6988a8e32dce01738c9eaec1/stephen-colbert-mike-pence-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Stephen Colbert Trolls Donald Trump by Heaping Praise on Mike Pence  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 6, 2016 11:53 AM CUT  The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, September 20, 2016. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, September 20, 2016.CBS Photo Archive—CBS via Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 6, 2016 11:53 AM CUT Stephen Colbert thinks the Republican vice presidential nominee might just have outdone his running-mate at the VP debate. The _Late Show_ host addressed claims that Pence had “won overall, but … lost with Trump,” who was reportedly displeased that the debate made people think that “maybe \[Pence\] should have been at the top of the ticket.” “Trump’s very sensitive. If people praise Mike Pence too much, it might push Trump over the edge,” Colbert said. He promptly heaped his own praises upon Pence and his debate performance. “You look at him, you think world leader,” Colbert said. “And did you see the size of his hands? They’re massive.” Watch the rest of the clip above, in which Colbert also investigates Pence’s use of Russian proverbs and marvels at his ability to tear a rift in the space-time continuum. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4520955/stephen-colbert-mike-pence-debate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4520955/stephen-colbert-mike-pence-debate/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert Trolls Donald Trump by Heaping Praise on Mike Pence","datePublished":"2016-10-06T11:53:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:02:45.728Z","description":"\"You look at him, you think world leader. And did you see the size of his hands?\"","url":"https://time.com/4520955/stephen-colbert-mike-pence-debate/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e7dcdcbbd4f39a2/6988a8e32dce01738c9eaec1/stephen-colbert-mike-pence-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e7dcdcbbd4f39a2/6988a8e32dce01738c9eaec1/stephen-colbert-mike-pence-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"stephen colbert mike pence donald trump","caption":"stephen colbert mike pence donald trump","creditText":"CBS Photo Archive—CBS via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4520955/stephen-colbert-mike-pence-debate/","name":"Stephen Colbert Trolls Donald Trump by Heaping Praise on Mike Pence"}}]}] ```