During last week's GOP debate, Stephen Colbert came up with a little drinking game — or, as he put it, "I turned on the debate, and I drank." Sounds about right. But Tuesday night, when Donald Trump showed up to The Late Show, the affable host set aside the drinks and got down to business.
"You are setting the world on fire right now," Colbert opened. "We're having a lot of fun," Trump —who did not sound as if he was having any fun at all tonight — responded.
"I want to thank you for running for president — I don't want to say this stuff writes itself, but you do deliver it on time every day," Colbert fired back. But even then, Trump kept his cool. He was courteous, even a little deferential. Is something going on here that we don't know about?
"It's a self-funder," the presidential hopeful continued." He also emphasized the point that he's been making consistently over the last several months: "I'm spending my own money. I'm not asking the lobbyists. I don't want the money from the lobbyists and the special interests."
And, he was clear about the fact that he has every intention of taking on the presidency with gusto, if elected. "If you actually got the gig, would that be a step down? You know what the pay is like, right?" Colbert asked. "It would be my great honor. I think I could do a great job. We could bring it back. We could bring the country back," Trump responded, talking slightly over Colbert.
The rest of the interview played out pretty predictably: Trump affirmed that, yes, he still thinks that all illegal immigrants should be deported and that we need to build a wall with a big, beautiful door in it for those worthy of entering. He also added that there's a great example for getting this wall up fast and furiously, dating all the way back to ancient China.
"Two thousand years ago, you have the great wall of China, 13,000 miles long," Trump reminded the audience. "Here, you're talking about 1000 miles... The cartels are pouring through. The money goes out, the drugs come in. We're going to stop it." Roger that.
Oh, and he talked about The Hat too. "It's a hot hat," the mogul-turned-politician acknowledged.
All in all, it seemed like Trump was hell bent on keeping his cool and proving that he knows a thing or two about foreign policy and national finance — and while he didn't say anything especially impressive, he also didn't say anything hyper-insane either.
There's a first time for everything, we suppose?
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