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title: Stephen Colbert on Donald Trump Claim in April 2017 VIDEO
description: Stephen Colbert has a bone to pick with Trump&#x27;s recent boast that he&#x27;s had &quot;one of the most successful&quot; starts as president in U.S. history.
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og:title: Stephen Colbert Rips Trump&#x27;s &#x27;Most Successful 13 Weeks&#x27; of Presidency
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twitter:title: Stephen Colbert Rips Trump&#x27;s &#x27;Most Successful 13 Weeks&#x27; of Presidency
twitter:description: &quot;Trump&#x27;s doing a lot of crowing lately&quot;
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# Stephen Colbert Rips Trump's 'Most Successful 13 Weeks' in History of Presidency Claim

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![Megan McCluskey](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf85e445233dc41d2/698940894ee2620cd9313802/m_mccluskey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

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[Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)


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## Megan McCluskey


Staff Writer

Apr 7, 2017 3:25 PM UTC

![Megan McCluskey](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf85e445233dc41d2/698940894ee2620cd9313802/m_mccluskey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

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## Megan McCluskey


Staff Writer

Apr 7, 2017 3:25 PM UTC

[Stephen Colbert](http://time.com/4728979/stephen-colbert-kendall-jenner-pepsi-attractive-lives-matter/) has a bone to pick with [Donald Trump’s recent boast](https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/850062240854233090) that he’s had “one of the most successful 13 weeks in the history of the presidency.”

After delving into Senate Republicans’ use of the “[nuclear option](http://time.com/4723610/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-nuclear-option-filibuster/)” to push a vote on the confirmation of [Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch](http://time.com/4728558/neil-gorsuch-filibuster-senate-confirmation-vote/) during Thursday night’s episode of _The Late Show_, the host addressed the controversial Trump claim.

“I don’t know if it’s the most successful. I can say it’s not the least successful,” he consented of Trump’s start, jokingly adding, “William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia four weeks into his presidency. It’s still better than Trump. It’s still a little bit better than Trump.”

Watch the full clip below.

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