"Colbert bests Trump."
That was the title of a Politico story by Ben Schreckinger about Donald Trump's appearance last night on CBS's Late Show hosted by Stephen Colbert. Huh? Did Ben see the same show as everybody else because your humble correspondent was surprised at how amiable the interview was. You can see most of the interview below and judge for yourself. Here is part of what Schreckinger wrote in trying to score liberal points at the expense of Trump in contrast to rather friendly reality:
Donald Trump was in no fighting mood on Tuesday night.
Rather than come out swinging, as he did at the outset of last week’s Republican debate, a subdued front-runner came out nodding in his “Late Show” interview with Stephen Colbert.
Rather than engage or try to turn the tables, Trump, whose default mode is offense, repeatedly agreed with the wisecracks lobbed by the razor-sharp comedian, who has a knack for skewering self-serious politicians.
The Atlantic, hardly a conservative source, had a sharply different opinion of the interview:
Last night, Donald Trump appeared as a guest on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. You could also say that Colbert had Trump as a guest, but that grammar wouldn’t be quite accurate to the spirit of the interview. Because, last night, Colbert was trumped.
...Colbert then mentioned Trump’s most recent polling numbers. (“You see Zogby?,” Colbert asked. “Thirty-three percent! That came out today. Thirty-three percent, it’s incredible!”)
“I’m liking him a lot,” Trump told the crowd, in response.
“I’m liking you, too,” Colbert replied. “I’m liking you, too.”
...Then, Colbert tried role-playing. He asked Trump to imagine himself, as president, informing the Mexican president of his plan to make Mexico pay for the wall he has said he wants to build between the U.S. and its southern neighbor. It was a cheeky approach, but it backfired. Trump played along. Worse, Colbert’s rendition of the Mexican president involved him adopting a Speedy Gonzalez-esque voice and uttering responses to Trump that included the line, “Oh! Oh! My corazón! No, no, no!”
It was a great night for Trump. It was a considerably less-great night for Colbert. Coming off of his tough interview with Cruz the night before, the host was repeatedly bested by his guest. The grammar was all off, with Trump as the subject, and Colbert as, repeatedly, the object. Was he intimidated by Trump? Was he reprimanded for the harshness of the conversation with Cruz? Did he simply not take Trump seriously as a contender for the highest office in the land?
Google the many other sources on the web reviewing the encounter and you will see that the vast majority of them such as the Christian Science Monitor viewed the interview much differently than Politico with an obvious agenda.
