Stephen Colbert Decodes One of the Worst Things Donald Trump Said After the Orlando Mass Shooting

His drawing says it all.


In the days since the Orlando mass shooting on Sunday, Donald Trump has repeatedly said that President Barack Obama has “something else in mind” when he refuses to say the words “radical Islamic terrorism.”

“He doesn’t get it or he gets it better than anybody understands,” Trump told Fox & Friends on Monday. “It’s one or the other.”

“We’re led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he’s got something else in mind,” the real estate magnate said during another morning show appearance. “And the something else in mind, you know, people can’t believe it.”

When asked for clarity, Trump characteristically demurred each time, stopping short of saying outright what most people know he is insinuating. On Tuesday, Stephen Colbert offered to draw out Trump’s coded messages and spell out exactly what they mean for anyone still confused by the presidential hopeful’s vagueness.

It’s both chilling and exhilarating to watch, as a host on a major television network finally says what Trump is likely alluding to. Or in Colbert’s case, he draws it.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate