Late night talk show host Stephen Colbert took a dig at the Trump administration’s demolition of the East Wing of the White House Thursday night, and by reminding the president of a controversy that has continued to plague his second presidency.
The Trump administration began demolition on the East Wing on Monday, with photos and video of the structure’s destruction shocking critics from across the political spectrum. Erected in 1942, the East Wing’s destruction was ordered to make way for President Donald Trump’s $200 million ballroom, the price of which increased to around $300 million, Trump admitted Thursday.
Colbert kicked off his show late Thursday night commentating on the East Wing’s destruction in his opening monologue, and torched the Trump administration’s efforts to conceal the project from public view.
“As of this morning, the East Wing looked like a rotisserie chicken your dog got into,” Colbert said.
“That is very upsetting to look at, and you know the administration knows that because today, the Secret Service closed access to the Ellipse park, which is a public park from which journalists have been capturing live images of the East Wing demolition. Well, that makes sense: if none of it's on camera, they can just claim the East Wing hanged itself in prison.”
Laughter from the audience erupted in the room after Colbert’s remark, which was making reference to Jeffrey Epstein, who died under mysterious circumstances in a New York prison by alleged hanging while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
While the Trump administration has gone on to reaffirm the initial assessment on Epstein’s death – that he died by suicide – questions remain as to the circumstances surrounding his death. For instance, cameras covering Epstein’s cell had malfunctioned the night of his death, prison guards failed to conduct regular checks on Epstein as they were required to, and autopsy reports suggest his death was more consistent with a strangulation than with hanging.
The matter of Epstein has plagued Trump’s second presidency given that the disgraced financier was well known for his close ties with powerful figures, including former President Bill Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew and Trump. Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet several times in the 1990s, with Epstein calling Trump his “closest friend for ten years” in 2017.