Colbert’s conquest
Newsflash: Stephen Colbert is not Bill O'Reilly. When will President Trump's biggest fans realize that attempting to boycott something or someone they do not like actually has the opposite impact?
The latest target of Trumpworld's ire is the CBS "Late Show" host who delivered a crude, expletive-laden monologue against Trump Monday that included a joke about the President's bizarre relationship with Russian strongman, Vladimir Putin.
It was such a lowbrow attack, Colbert walked the joke back.
“If you saw my monologue Monday, you know that I was a little upset with Donald Trump for insulting a friend of mine,” Colbert said on Wednesday. “So, at the end of that monologue, I had a few choice insults for the president in return. I don’t regret that. I believe he can take care of himself. I have jokes, he has the launch codes so it’s a fair fight.”
The blue and heavily bleeped monologue came in response to Trump walking out of an interview Sunday with "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson when the correspondent started asking questions that made the President unhappy.
But Trump supporters are raging on social media that Colbert - the dominant late-night comedy show host in America - should be fired in just the same manner that Fox News Channel fired O'Reilly.
One hashtag cooked up, #firecolbert, is trending online.
Could this be an eye-for-aneye moment?
Dream on. In response to all the hoopla and calls for his ouster, Colbert last week recorded the best ratings since his show debuted in 2015.
Meanwhile, O'Reilly was brought down by decades of creepy behavior, audio tapes of said creepy behavior and $13 million worth of settlements with his accusers.
Colbert? He's a squeaky clean family man who simply parodied O'Reilly for years on Comedy Central. Was what he said acceptable on television? At 11:30 p.m. and bleeped to the bejesus belt, it sure is.
If anything, CBS should give Colbert a raise as he turned out to be the one at CBS to challenge Trump on behalf of CBS.
It's quite likely that he and his producers hoped for a reaction like this because when Trump and his supporters grouse about things like the "failing" New York Times or other perceived enemies, the objects of their scorn become wildly successful.
On Wednesday the Times boasted that it has added more subscribers than ever since Trump's attacks began.
Last fall, Trump fans urged a boycott of Broadway's biggest hit "Hamilton" when the cast pleaded directly to Vice President Pence (who was in the audience) to respect and address the fears his administration had unleashed among millions of non-supporters.
"Hamilton" tickets remain outrageously priced and in short supply.
Trump fans even tried to take on Starbucks last winter when the coffee behemoth defied Trump's attempts to ban refugees from the U.S. by announcing plans to hire 10,000 refugees in the next five years.
The lines at Starbucks remain long and the coffee is still overpriced.
So please continue the calls for boycotts. Given the way these things turn out, it will only solidify Colbert's grip on the top spot.
If you believe boycotting Colbert or calling for him to be fired like O'Reilly is going to have any impact, I've got a wall to sell you - right after Mexico is done paying for it.
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