Stephen Colbert didn’t hold back when he slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the growing scandal surrounding a secret group chat. On “The Late Show,” Colbert ripped into Hegseth’s weak attempt to dodge responsibility.
“All of these people should be fired, maybe some of them should go to jail,” Colbert said, blasting the high-ranking officials caught up in the controversy, which includes key members of President Trump’s inner circle.
The mess began when National Security Adviser Michael Waltz accidentally added The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat on Signal—where top-secret military plans and sensitive info were being discussed. Alongside Goldberg, the chat included Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, among others.
Instead of owning up to the mistake, Hegseth tried to deflect, calling Goldberg “deceitful and highly discredited,” and accusing him of “peddling garbage.” But Colbert wasn’t having it.
He threw down the hard question that Hegseth refuses to answer: “Then why was he on the war planning group chat? Why was he in the chat?”
Colbert cranked up the heat, mocking Hegseth’s excuse: “‘This guy is an idiot and everyone hates him.’ You’re the ones who put him in the chat! You did! ‘He’s a moron.’ OK, then don’t put him in the secret chat! If he’s such a bad guy, why is he in the chat?”
Catch more of Colbert’s fiery monologue below:
