‘The Late Show’: Stephen Colbert Rips Into President Trump’s Tariffs

Martin Holmes April 3, 2025, 7:21 am

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Stephen Colbert took aim at President Donald Trump‘s widespread tariffs announcement on Wednesday’s (April 2) edition of The Late Show, joking that the country is “liberated” because “America is finally free from the tyranny of being able to buy stuff from other countries.”

“Who’s ready to learn how to make their own iPad from scratch?” the late-night quipped. “Why should those kids have all the fun?”

On Wednesday, Trump unveiled new trade tariffs on all goods entering the United States. From April 9, around 60 countries will be faced with steep tariffs if they want to export goods to the US, which is expected to have a major impact both domestically in the US and globally.

Colbert pointed out how “reportedly, Trump was still weighing tariff options until late yesterday,” adding, “Now, if you’re not steeped in the wonky language of beltway insiders, that basically means they were spitballing ideas through the bathroom door at 3 am.”

Mimicking Trump, the comedian quipped, “Tell you what? What if Ireland has to pay extra to be on the Lucky Charms box? What about that? I’m just spitballing here. We stopped Count Chocula at the border.”

As Colbert noted, these are “the most severe trade tariffs since 1930,” to which he added, “Ah yes, the 1930s Smoot-Hawley tariffs, just one of the reasons we remember Herbert Hoover as our greatest president, that’s why they named all those vacuums after him because… he didn’t suck.”

“Now, worrywart historians believe that the 1930s tariffs were responsible for a two-thirds decline in international trade and led to a global depression,” Colbert continued, joking, “Doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again, but just in case, we should all practice our sad Dust Bowl Migrant Mother pose.”

Colbert Cracks Up Over Trump's Failure to Answer Simple Irish Question

Elsewhere in Wednesday’s monologue, Colbert mocked Elon Musk after the tech billionaire’s stunt of handing out million-dollar checks to voters failed to have an impact in the Wisconsin state Supreme Court race.

Referencing Susan Crawford’s victory this week over Brad Schimel, the host said, “A lot of folks are happy about this partly because it keeps the court’s 4-3 liberal majority. But mostly because it is terrible news for Elon Musk. Spending all that money, spending all that cash, just to watch the whole thing burst into flames. Now he knows what it’s like to buy a Tesla.”

You can watch the full monologue in the video above and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS