Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Donald Trump Jr leaked email tackled by Stephen Colbert: 'I apologise for thinking Eric was the dumb one'

The US host reacted to the news Don Jr himself leaked the email proving his collusion with Russia

Jacob Stolworthy
Wednesday 12 July 2017 04:19 EDT
Comments
Stephen Colbert apologises to Eric Trump for thinking that he was the dumb one

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Stephen Colbert has reacted to Donald Trump Jr. leaking the email which revealed his private collusion with Russia to acquire dirt on Hillary Clinton by apologising to Eric Trump.

Kicking off Tuesday's instalment of The Late Show, Colbert said: “Last night I told you about how Don Jr. met with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have dirt on Hillary Clinton. Seemed pretty bad. But, it turned out - much worse.“

Colbert then detailed the events which led up to the shock leak of the incriminating email by the President's son himself.

“Because then, The New York Times reported Trump was told in email this was a Russian effort to aid Trump’s campaign,“ Colbert continued. ”Wow who could have predicted an email scandal would taint a presidential campaign?

“But we did not know what these emails were. We did not know if these emails were even real - how would we ever see them? For that, Donald Trump Jr. would have to tweet them out this morning at 11 AM.”

An astonished Colbert then blurted with incredulity: “What are you doing?! Who told him to do this? Does he even have a lawyer? Cause you rarely see a cop show where the lawyer burst into the interrogation room and shouts, ‘Keep talking! In fact, tweet out everything you know!’”

Colbert then dissected the emails, telling the audience sarcastically: “Remember, it is going to take careful parsing to prove that the Trump campaign was privately colluding with Russia to get damaging confidential information about Hillary Clinton.”

The US host capped the episode's opening speech with “a formal apology” to Trump's over son, Eric.

“So, at this point I would like to issue a formal apology,” he said. “I’d like to apologise to Eric Trump. We always thought you were the dumb one. We were wrong.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in