--- title: Stephen Colbert Says Being President Has Worn Trump Down description: Stephen Colbert seems willing to bet that being president is really starting to get to Donald Trump. canonical: https://time.com/5456934/stephen-colbert-trump-worn-down/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-16T15:55:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:06:29.429Z og:title: Stephen Colbert: Being President Has Really Worn Trump Down og:description: "Trump doesn't like a lot of things these days" og:url: https://time.com/5456934/stephen-colbert-trump-worn-down/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9261c802e18866c9/69893f4822fb851ef5e27306/screen-shot-2018-11-16-at-10-28-06-am.png?branch=production&width=1113&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1113 og:image:height: 626 og:image:alt: Stephen-Colbert-Trump-Worn-Out og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stephen Colbert: Being President Has Really Worn Trump Down twitter:description: "Trump doesn't like a lot of things these days" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9261c802e18866c9/69893f4822fb851ef5e27306/screen-shot-2018-11-16-at-10-28-06-am.png?branch=production&width=1113&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stephen Colbert Says Being President Has Really Worn Trump Down > 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=d1d44fee-fcc9-48c0-a0b0-7dfa2351ceb1&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Why President Trump's Firings Are Not All The Same [Watch (HLS stream): Why President Trump's Firings Are Not All The Same](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QQ934mGx.m3u8) (1:48)  _Published 2018-03-20. A guide to former Trump administration staffers._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Nov 16, 2018 3:55 PM UTC A guide to former Trump administration staffers.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Nov 16, 2018 3:55 PM UTC In the wake of a [_Vanity Fair_](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/11/trumps-post-midterms-blues-roil-the-white-house)report that tensions at the [White House](http://time.com/5453979/trump-staff-shakeup-cabinet-white-house/) have reached a new level of “insanity,” [Stephen Colbert](http://time.com/5438911/stephen-colbert-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting/) seems willing to bet that being president is really starting to get to Donald Trump. During Thursday’s episode of _The Late Show_, Colbert addressed a potential [shakeup](http://time.com/5453979/trump-staff-shakeup-cabinet-white-house/) for Trump ahead of Democratic control of the House of Representatives, which will begin in January. Deputy national security adviser [Mira Ricardel](http://time.com/5455300/mira-ricardel-leaves-melania-trump/) already left the White House on Thursday after first lady Melania Trump’s office issued a statement calling for her dismissal. “Trump doesn’t like a lot of things these days. He’s pretty grumpy. Reports are he’s moping around the White House,” the late-night host said. “\[A\] former staffer says, ‘This is a level of insanity I’ve never seen before.’ A level of insanity this White House has never seen before! And keep in mind, this White House has seen Kanye.” Watch the full clip below. ## Transcript Before he became president, Donald Trump was famous for firing people on television. You're fired. You're fired. Hillary, you're fired. So it's not surprising that his first year in office has seen a number of firings and resignations, nearly triple the rate in President Obama's first year according to one study. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] But the high turnover rate obscures the very different reasons behind the departure Some have been typical. People who lack because they were ready for something different. That includes everyone from deputy White House chief of staff Katie Wash to press secretary Sean Spicer and communications director Hope Hicks. Then there's people who left or were forced out because they disagreed on policy. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates was fired for refusing to defend the travel ban. Economic advisor Gary Cohn resigned over transplant implements steel and aluminum tariffs. And secretary of state Rax Tillerson was fired after clashing with trump too many times. Others left under a cloud of scandal. Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price resigned amid criticism of his use of taxpayer funded charter flights. [ MUSIC ] CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald resigned after reports she had traded in tobacco stocks. And staff secretary Rob Porter resigned after accusations of domestic violence. In some cases, the departure itself has been controversial. Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey started a series of events Of events that led to the appointment of a special counsel. And the firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe raised questions about the president's involvement. At least one Trump staffer should have seen it coming. Aide Omarosa Manigault was fired in December in part for misusing White House car service. But it was the frist time she'd been fired by Donald Trump. You know I've always been a big Omarosa fan, but Omarosa you're fired. 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