--- title: Stephen Colbert Guesses Where Trump Got Space Force From description: "Please wait until NASA finds life before you try to kill it," Colbert said canonical: https://time.com/5363845/stephen-colbert-on-space-force/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-10T14:07:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T07:45:25.121Z og:title: Colbert Has a Guess Where Trump's Space Force Idea Came From og:description: "Please wait until NASA finds life before you try to kill it," Colbert said og:url: https://time.com/5363845/stephen-colbert-on-space-force/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt940c56492956fe6a/69893779fb4eacd5ff897579/stephencolbertonspaceforce.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1486 og:image:height: 836 og:image:alt: StephenColbertonSpaceForce og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Colbert Has a Guess Where Trump's Space Force Idea Came From twitter:description: "Please wait until NASA finds life before you try to kill it," Colbert said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt940c56492956fe6a/69893779fb4eacd5ff897579/stephencolbertonspaceforce.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stephen Colbert Suspects He Knows Where the Idea for Trump's Space Force Came From > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7b9e41b0-d39b-40d3-b1e6-696cc2f09ac4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump Administration Outlines 'Space Force' Plan [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Administration Outlines 'Space Force' Plan](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tmxUVpx1.m3u8) (3:24)  _Published 2018-08-09. The Trump Administration outlined a plan to make a “Space Force” the sixth branch of the U.S. military Thursday, but there are still significant hurdles before it could become a reality._ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Aug 10, 2018 2:07 PM UTC The Trump Administration outlined a plan to make a “Space Force” the sixth branch of the U.S. military Thursday, but there are still significant hurdles before it could become a reality. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Aug 10, 2018 2:07 PM UTC Vice President Mike Pence [presented the plan](http://time.com/5363132/space-force-mike-pence-plan/) for Space Force, the newly proposed space-based branch of the military, at the Pentagon on Thursday and Stephen Colbert had a jab about his selection for the job. “Pence is a huge fan of space,” Colbert said on _The Late Show_. “It is the farthest you can get from being alone with a human woman.” Space Force gave the late night talk show host a lot of material to work with for Thursday night’s episode. Colbert joked that the Space Force came from an idea President Trump “got from a Buzz Lightyear Happy Meal toy.” He then played a clip of President Trump waxing on about the new sixth arm of the military. “We may even have a Space Force,” Trump said in the clip. “Develop another one. Space Force. We have the Air Force, we’ll have the Space Force. … Think of that. Space Force!” “Yes, think of that,” Colbert said. “But not too hard, ’[cause it’s stupid.](http://time.com/5352947/air-force-secretary-nobody-supports-space-force/)” “We don’t need Space Force,” he added. “Please wait until NASA finds life before you try to kill it.” Colbert then re-imagined John F. Kennedy’s famous “we choose to go to the moon” speech in the context of the Trump era: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but to distract from Robert Mueller. Witch hunt!” Colbert also skewered Trump’s enthusiastic tweet that read: “Space Force all the way!” “Space Force, you know I love it,” Colbert said in his Trump impersonation. “I of course would join, but I have space spurs, I can’t do it.” > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1027586174448218113) Colbert was also inspired by an email was sent out to Trump supporters on Thursday afternoon, asking them to vote for their favorite Space Force insignia, even though “the final choice will be made by the Electoral Space College,” Colbert joked. Trump supporters had [six designs to choose](http://time.com/5363058/donald-trump-campaign-space-force-logo/) from but Colbert had a few more ideas to add to the mix, including a special U.S.-Russia logo that read, “In space, no one can hear you collude.” Watch Stephen Colbert spoof Space Force in the video below. ## Transcript [00:00] As Commander in Chief, President Trump's highest [00:02] priority is the safety and security of the American [00:06] people. And while too often, previous administrations, [00:10] all that neglected the growing security threats [00:13] emerging in space, President Trump stated clearly and [00:18] forcefully. That space is in his words, a war fighting [00:22] domain just like land and air and sea. And [00:27] just as we have done in ages past, the United States of [00:31] America under his leadership will meet the emerging [00:34] threats on this new battle field with American inginuity [00:39] and strength To defend our nation. Protect our people. [00:44] And carry the cause of liberty and peace into the next [00:48] great American frontier. Now the time has come to [00:52] write the next great chapter in history of our Armed [00:55] Forces. To prepare for the next battle field. Where [00:59] America's best and bravest will be called to deter and [01:01] defeat a new generation of threats to our people, to [01:05] our nation. The time has come to establish the [01:10] United States Space Force. And [01:14] that's what brings us here today. To be clear, the [01:17] space force will not be built from scratch Because the [01:20] men and women who run and protect our nation's [01:23] space programs today are already the best in the [01:25] world. Since the dawn of the space age America [01:30] has remained the best in space. [ APPLAUSE ] [01:39] As President Trump has said in his words it is not [01:41] enough To merely have an American presence in [01:44] space. We must have American dominance [01:48] in space. [ APPLAUSE ] And so we will. [ APPLAUSE ] [01:57] What was once peaceful and uncontested is now [02:01] crowded In adversarial. Today, [02:06] other nations are seeking to disrupt our Space- based [02:08] systems and challenge American supremacy in Space [02:12] as never before. For many years, nations from Russia, [02:15] China to North Korea and Iran have pursued weapons [02:18] to jam, blind and disable our navigation. And [02:21] communication satellites via electronic attacks from the [02:25] ground. But recently, our adversaries have been [02:29] working to bring new weapons of war into space itself. [02:34] Our adversaries have transformed space into a war [02:36] fighting domain already. In the United State [02:40] will not shrink from this challenge. [ APPLAUSE ] [02:54] Under president Trump leadership will meet head on [02:57] to defend our nation. And build a peaceful future here [03:02] on Earth and in space. America will always seek peace [03:07] in space, as on the Earth. But history proves that peace [03:10] only comes through strength. And in the realm of outer [03:13] space, the United States Space Force We'll be [03:18] that strength in the years ahead. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5363845/stephen-colbert-on-space-force/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5363845/stephen-colbert-on-space-force/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert Suspects He Knows Where the Idea for Trump's Space Force Came From","datePublished":"2018-08-10T14:07:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-13T07:45:25.121Z","description":"\"We don't need Space Force. 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