--- description: For anyone who has taken an ostrich-like approach to Donald Trump’s Twitter account, it may get harder to ignore his missives title: Stephen Colbert Says Watch Out, Trump Is Getting Mass-Texting Abilities image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Stephen Colbert Says Watch Out, Donald Trump Is About to Get Mass-Texting Abilities by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2016 4:56 PM CUT by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2016 4:56 PM CUT For anyone who has taken an ostrich-like approach to [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4447985/inside-donald-trump-meltdown/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined")’s Twitter account, it may get harder to ignore his missives. As President, Trump will have the power to text message every citizen directly. “Here’s the deal — you legally don’t have to have to follow \[Trump’s\] tweets,” Stephen Colbert said on _The Late Show_ on Thursday. “You can un-follow [Trump](http://time.com/4577744/hamilton-actors-react-mike-pence-donald-trump/?iid=sr-link8 "undefined"), delete Twitter, go into the world, live your life.” “But the bad news is, starting January 20th, [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4433880/donald-trump-ties-to-russia/?iid=sr-link8 "undefined") can send un-blockable mass text messages to the entire nation,” Colbert warned, causing a gasp from the audience. As [New York magazine](http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/11/president-trump-can-send-emergency-alerts-to-everyone.html "undefined") reported on Wednesday, Trump theoretically could text the nation using the laws governing Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs). While there’s no indication he’s planning to do so, the idea that Trump can text anyone with a phone was too much for Colbert. “The only person I would trust less with that technology is [Anthony Weiner](http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2076155,00.html?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"),” Colbert joked about the former congressman embroiled in multiple sexting scandals. Colbert continued: “Yes, feel free to block alerts about floods and missing persons, but if [Trump](http://time.com/4588543/donald-trump-thank-you-tour-cincinnati-defense-secretary/?xid=homepage "undefined") wants you to know how he feels about [the cast of _Hamilton_](http://time.com/4579861/donald-trump-hamilton-stephen-colbert/?iid=sr-link9 "undefined"), you will listen.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4588908/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-texts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4588908/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-texts/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert Says Watch Out, Donald Trump Is About to Get Mass-Texting Abilities","datePublished":"2016-12-02T16:56:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:39:08.714Z","description":"Forget Twitter, the President can text us all","url":"https://time.com/4588908/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-texts/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","politics","stephen colbert","2016 presidential election","Donald Trump","the late show"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"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":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4588908/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-texts/","name":"Stephen Colbert Says Watch Out, Donald Trump Is About to Get Mass-Texting Abilities"}}]}] ```