Stephen Colbert Says Trump Is “Cornered” as Bruce Springsteen Takes Aim at ICE

On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, host Stephen Colbert delivered a sharp, joke-packed monologue about Donald Trump, saying the president appears rattled by falling popularity and backlash over harsh enforcement tactics.

Colbert told viewers that reports describe Trump as “backed into a corner,” which he called the most dangerous place for him to be. “If you startle him when he’s cornered,” Colbert joked, “he’ll inflate his neck pouch.” The line drew laughs while underlining a serious point: public anger over what Colbert called “incredibly unpopular mass deportations.”

That anger, Colbert said, has spilled into culture. Rock icon Bruce Springsteen has reportedly written a new protest song titled Streets of Minneapolis, aimed at the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Springsteen famously addressed the AIDS crisis decades ago with Streets of Philadelphia, and Colbert quipped that “you really don’t want Bruce Springsteen to write a song about your streets — not even Sesame.”

Colbert praised the new song as “poignant and powerful,” adding a comic aside: “Do you know how hard it is to rhyme with Minneapolis?” He said the message hits hard because Springsteen is “as American as it gets.”

The host also took aim at plans to send ICE agents to the Winter Olympics in Milan, calling it “a terrible idea.” “The only ice I wanna see at the Winter Olympics is ice dancing,” Colbert said, noting that some Milan lawmakers are reportedly unhappy and discussing ways to block entry for what he called Trump’s “thugs.” He capped the bit with another jab, calling it “America’s greatest insult to Italy since Olive Garden’s steak gorgonzola alfredo.”

Colbert closed by mocking the Washington, DC premiere of Melania, which drew a crowd that included high-profile political figures alongside former NFL and UFC personalities. His punchline was blunt: it looked like “a bunch of people with brain damage … sat next to NFL players and UFC fighters.”

As usual, Colbert mixed satire with pointed criticism, turning the week’s political controversies into late-night laughs — and highlighting how pop culture and politics are colliding in unusually loud ways.