--- title: Watch Stephen Colbert on Trump Congress Address: LIVE VIDEO description: Following President Donald Trump's first address to Congress, Stephen Colbert went live to give his take on POTUS's plan for America. canonical: https://time.com/4686999/stephen-colbert-trump-congress-address/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-01T16:17:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:18:52.929Z og:title: Stephen Colbert Gutted Trump's Address to Congress Live og:description: "We can at least all agree on one thing: one down, seven to go" og:url: https://time.com/4686999/stephen-colbert-trump-congress-address/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc484f8f995d17047/6988bc872dce01905e9ec77d/stephen-colbert-live.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stephen Colbert Gutted Trump's Address to Congress Live twitter:description: "We can at least all agree on one thing: one down, seven to go" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc484f8f995d17047/6988bc872dce01905e9ec77d/stephen-colbert-live.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stephen Colbert Goes Live With a Scathing Takedown of President Trump's Address to Congress > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b13566eb-9b3c-40e8-a1d5-d9701ba99a9e&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Closes Address To Congress With Call For Unity [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Closes Address To Congress With Call For Unity](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/glfwSsUN.m3u8) (1:51)  _Published 2017-03-01. Heralding a "new chapter of American greatness," President Donald Trump stood before Congress for the first time Tuesday night and issued a broad call for overhauling the nation's health care system, significantly boosting military spending and plung_  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Mar 1, 2017 4:17 PM UTC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Mar 1, 2017 4:17 PM UTC Following [President Donald Trump’s](http://time.com/4686828/donald-trump-congress-address-reading-level/) first [address to Congress](http://time.com/4686621/trump-congress-address-transcript/) Tuesday, [Stephen Colbert](http://time.com/4685426/stephen-colbert-trump-nytimes-ad/) went live to give his take on the plan POTUS had laid out for America. _The Late Show_ host delivered his scathing opening monologue within hours of the conclusion of Trump’s speech, offering a play-by-play breakdown of the night. “The theme of the speech was ‘renewal of the American spirit,’ which I gotta say, really just sounds like a Chinese bootleg of ‘Make America Great Again,'” he quipped. Colbert also took shots at several of Trump’s policy stances, including his proposals for immigration and healthcare. Watch the full clip below. ## Transcript America is willing to find new friends and to forge new partnerships where shared interests align. We want harmony and stability, not war and conflict. We want peace wherever peace can be found. America is friends, today, with former enemies. We are one people with one destiny. We all bleed the same blood. We all salute the same great American flag. And we all are made by the same God. The time for small thinking is over. The time for trivial fights is behind us. We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts, the bravery to express the hopes that [ INAUDIBLE ] our souls, and the confidence that turn those hopes and those dreams into action From now on, America will be empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by our fears. Inspired by the future, not bound by failures of the past, and guided by a vision, not blinded by our doubts. I am asking all citizens to embrace this renewal of the American spirit. I am asking all members of congress to join me in dreaming big and bold and daring things for our country. I am asking everyone watching tonight to seize this moment Believe in yourselves, believe in your future, and believe once more in America. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States. 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