During a speech to veterans on Tuesday, President Donald Trump made an assertion that sounded so much like gaslighting, it drew instant comparisons to a famous quote from George Orwell’s 1984.
Warning against news coverage that might be unfavorable to him, he assured his audience, “Just remember, what you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.” That sounded a lot like this ominous line from the dystopian novel: “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
“I’m so happy to be with you, you not crazy people,” Stephen Colbert said in his Late Show monologue Tuesday night. “Because you’ve got to remember that you’re not crazy, no matter what Donald Trump says.”
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After playing the clip of Trump’s remark, the host feigned relief. “Oh good,” he said. “I was worried, because what I’m seeing and reading is that the president is a racist, horny old burger-goblin who literally steals children from poor people.”
“Oh, I’m being told he’s lying,” Colbert added, “which makes sense, because that’s another one of the things I’m seeing and reading.”
“Every day, just like that, Donald Trump gets a little more brazen,” the host continued, pointing to the announcement that the president wants to revoke the security clearances of several former Obama administration intelligence officials who have criticized him.
“Now, I don’t know if we’ve arrived at dictatorship,” Colbert said. “But we’ve definitely made it to dick.”
