--- title: Stephen Colbert on Trump's Tweets, Feuds and IQ description: Stephen Colbert on Tuesday took aim at President Trump's disputes with GOP leaders, criticizing him for not "playing well with others" canonical: https://time.com/4977418/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-iq-tweets/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-11T12:32:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:05.032Z article:section: Politics og:title: Stephen Colbert Thinks He Knows What Will Start the Next War og:description: He says it's not artificial intelligence og:url: https://time.com/4977418/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-iq-tweets/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt125b4e920b205915/6988e170929fad2e30bee075/stephen-colbert-trump-iq.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stephen Colbert Thinks He Knows What Will Start the Next War twitter:description: He says it's not artificial intelligence twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt125b4e920b205915/6988e170929fad2e30bee075/stephen-colbert-trump-iq.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stephen Colbert Thinks He Knows What Will Start the Next War > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times 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. ## Video: 'Get a Sense of Humor.' White House Calls Donald Trump's Comment About Rex Tillerson's IQ a 'Joke' [Watch (HLS stream): 'Get a Sense of Humor.' White House Calls Donald Trump's Comment About Rex Tillerson's IQ a 'Joke'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8RiLYhnv.m3u8) (0:19)  _Published 2017-10-10. The White House says President Donald Trump was joking when he appeared to question his secretary of state's intelligence._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Oct 11, 2017 12:32 PM UTC  The Late Show with Stephen Colbert during the Oct. 5, 2017 show. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert during the Oct. 5, 2017 show. Scott Kowalchyk—CBS/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Oct 11, 2017 12:32 PM UTC [Stephen Colbert](http://time.com/4970357/stephen-colbert-to-rex-tillerson-nobody-calls-our-president-a-moron-except-me/) on Tuesday took aim at President Trump’s recent disputes with GOP leaders, criticizing him for not “playing well with others.” “So far, it has been a rough start to the school year for Donald Trump. His report card is definitely going to say ‘has problems working and playing well with others,” Colbert said. “It’s open warfare between Donald Trump and the Republicans. It all started with an attempt to avoid open warfare with North Korea.” In a recent [interview with the New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/08/us/politics/trump-corker.html?%5Fr=0), Republican Tennessee Sen. [Bob Corker](http://time.com/4958159/bob-corker-reelection-2018/) accused Trump of treating the presidency like “a reality show” and setting the country “on the path to World War III” because of his tweets. Aside from Trump’s ongoing feud with Corker, Colbert also referenced the president’s [recent disputes](http://time.com/4964400/trump-twitter-rex-tillerson-north-korea/) with [Secretary of State Rex Tillerson](http://time.com/4968932/rex-tillerson-secretary-state-trump-moron/), who reportedly [called Trump a “moron.”](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/tillerson-s-fury-trump-required-intervention-pence-n806451) That prompted Trump to suggest that the two “[compare IQ tests.](http://time.com/4975666/donald-trump-rex-tillerson-secretary-of-state/)” “All this time, we’ve been worried the next war would be caused by artificial intelligence. Turns out the real danger is natural stupidity,” Colbert said. “I’ll miss us. We had a good run.” ## Transcript The President certainly never implied that the Secretary of State was not incredibly intelligent. He made a joke, nothing more than that. He has full confidence in the Secretary of State. 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