--- description: Stephen Colbert slammed Speaker Paul Ryan for his flip-flopping stance regarding President Donald Trump. title: Stephen Colbert Hammers Paul Ryan for Flip-Flopping on Trump 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 Hammers Paul Ryan for 'Folding' to President Donald Trump  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Mar 15, 2017 3:33 PM CUT  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Mar 15, 2017 3:33 PM CUT After Breitbart News [leaked an audio tape from October 2016](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/breitbart-vs-ryan-website-declares-war-against-an-old-foe-over-a-new-cause/2017/03/15/8c4aef24-08f6-11e7-a15f-a58d4a988474%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.16295b2cc413 "undefined") of [Paul Ryan](http://time.com/4699913/paul-ryan-steve-king-comments/ "undefined") saying he would not defend then-candidate [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4701747/donald-trump-rachel-maddow-taxes/ "undefined"), [Stephen Colbert](http://time.com/4700778/stephen-colbert-kellyanne-conway-microwave/ "undefined") slammed the House Speaker for not sticking to his guns. During the opening monologue of Tuesday’s episode of _The Late Show_, the host played a recording of Ryan’s statement in which he said he was “not going to defend Donald Trump — not now, not in the future,” before bashing him for his flip-flopping stance regarding the president. “By in the future, of course, I mean between now and the election. After that, I’m going to fold like a Trump casino,” Colbert mockingly added. Colbert also hammered Ryan for his recent remarks on the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that up to [24 million people could lose their health care coverage](http://time.com/4701140/republicans-scramble-trumpcare-support-cbo/ "undefined") under the GOP’s proposed replacement for Obamacare. “You sound like the most optimistic guy in the Donner Party,” said Colbert, referencing Ryan’s comment that the number exceeded his expectations. “‘Oh, everything is great, I expected to eat my grandma miles ago, now excuse me I’ve got to go salt my cousin.'” Watch the full clip below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4702108/stephen-colbert-paul-ryan-trump-audio/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4702108/stephen-colbert-paul-ryan-trump-audio/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert Hammers Paul Ryan for 'Folding' to President Donald Trump","datePublished":"2017-03-15T15:33:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:41:55.433Z","description":"\"Paul Ryan’s headache is just beginning\"","url":"https://time.com/4702108/stephen-colbert-paul-ryan-trump-audio/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","politics","stephen colbert","Paul Ryan","TV","Donald Trump","the late show","Late Night Television","the late show with stephen colbert"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"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/4702108/stephen-colbert-paul-ryan-trump-audio/","name":"Stephen Colbert Hammers Paul Ryan for 'Folding' to President Donald Trump"}}]}] ```