{"id":232863,"date":"2025-10-22T16:17:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/232863\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:17:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:17:07","slug":"stephen-colbert-on-trumps-white-house-east-wing-demolition-so-deeply-unsettling-late-night-tv-roundup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/232863\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Colbert on Trump\u2019s White House East Wing demolition: \u2018so deeply unsettling\u2019 | Late-night TV roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Late-night hosts reacted to Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s partial demolition<\/a> of the East Wing of the White House for his proposed $250m gilded ballroom.<\/p>\n

Stephen Colbert<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, we\u2019re nine months into this, you\u2019d think it would be impossible for us to be shocked by Donald Trump,\u201d said Stephen Colbert<\/a> on Tuesday\u2019s Late Show. \u201cBut give the man credit \u2013 every so often, he takes the time to attach the electrodes to our nipples. And then it feels like the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Case in point: on Monday, as part of his White House renovation project to construct a gilded ballroom, Trump sent out a backhoe to rip off a part of the East Wing. \u201cThat is it, we are not giving him the security deposit back,\u201d Colbert quipped.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is so deeply unsettling,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt\u2019s like being a kid and seeing your teacher at the grocery store \u2026 for sale \u2026 in the meat department.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just nine months into Trump\u2019s term, and he\u2019s already going \u2018Hulk smash\u2019 on the White House. Last time, it took at least four years to bring a demo crew to the Capitol,\u201d he added, referring to January 6.<\/p>\n

The demolition comes after Trump promised that the $250m, 90,000-sq-ft ballroom renovation would not touch the existing White House. \u201cSo that was a lie,\u201d said Colbert. \u201cAt this point, should we even believe that this is going to end up being a ballroom? It could just as easily end up being a combination Pizza Hut-Taco Bell!\u201d<\/p>\n

The treasury department has even instructed its employees not to share any photos of the White House \u201cconstruction\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot generally something you instruct when you\u2019re proud of what\u2019s going on,\u201d Colbert noted. \u201cHey guys, remember, no photos at my wedding \u2026 and it\u2019s not because I\u2019m marrying a body pillow of Mariah Carey.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Daily Show<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government shutdown is now in its third week,\u201d said Michael Kosta on the Daily Show. \u201cCountless federal employees aren\u2019t being paid. Food stamps will run out soon. And there\u2019s no end in sight. But not to worry \u2013 President Trump is working day and night \u2026 to build a ballroom!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exactly what you voted for, coalminers in Pennsylvania: 90,000 gilded sq ft for Trump to do the jerk-off dance in,\u201d he joked. \u201cBut if you\u2019re worried such a renovation might damage the people\u2019s house, let Donald Trump put your fears to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump claimed that the project would \u201cnot interfere with the current building\u201d because it would be \u201cnear it but not touching it\u201d and \u201cpaying total respect to the existing building, which I\u2019m the biggest fan of, it\u2019s my favorite\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it\u2019s my favorite. I never want to leave \u2026 and I\u2019m never going to,\u201d Kosta mocked. \u201cI believe it\u2019s his favorite building, though. He loves the history, the decor, the immunity from criminal convictions it provides. But great! The White House itself is going to be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until a backhoe tore down some of the East Wing facade. \u201cWell, it looks like they touched it,\u201d Kosta joked. \u201cI mean, holy shit, who\u2019s his general contractor? Bin Laden and Sons?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently \u2018not touching\u2019 the White House turned into \u2018demolishing\u2019 the White House,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd for what? Does he really need a ballroom attached to his home? I mean, I guess it would be good to have one room where Barron did not have to crouch, but still.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seth Meyers<\/p>\n

And on Late Night, Seth Meyers<\/a> also responded to the East Wing demolition. \u201cYou guys, I don\u2019t think he\u2019s planning on leaving in three years,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I had three years left on a lease, I wouldn\u2019t even put up a shelf.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other news, during a White House press conference on Monday, Trump claimed that a cameraman hit a mirror with a piece of equipment. \u201cLuckily, no one in his administration casts a reflection,\u201d Meyers joked next to a photo of ghoulish adviser Stephen Miller.<\/p>\n

After Trump praised the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, during a press conference on Monday, Albanese said that he would use clips of those compliments in 2028 campaign ads. \u201cSo will I, said his opponent,\u201d Meyers quipped.<\/p>\n

And more than a dozen airports across the country have refused to play a partisan video of the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, at TSA checkpoints. \u201cIt just really riles up the dogs,\u201d Meyers said, referring to Noem\u2019s admission in her own memoir that she shot her own puppy for its behavior.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Late-night hosts reacted to Donald Trump\u2019s partial demolition of the East Wing of the White House for his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":{"0":"post-232863","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}