‘It Might Be the Thing’: Stephen Colbert Heralds Pelosi’s Impeachment Inquiry Into Trump-Ukraine Scandal

CBS Late Show host Stephen Colbert sparked an extended standing ovation on his show, but not for a clever punchline, instead it was for simply telling his audience the news that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

Kicking off his monologue on Tuesday, Colbert warned viewers to “buckle up” as he then ran through all the previous allegations that Trump has weathered in his presidency, from enlisting Russian interference in the 2016 election to paying hush money to a porn star with whom he had an alleged affair to altering a National Weather Service map with a Sharpie to cover for his false hurricane warning to Alabama.

“Every time, people have asked, ‘Is this the thing? Surely, this must be the thing.’ And every time, it wasn’t the thing,” Colbert said. “But here’s the thing: There’s a new thing, and it might be the thing.”

“Because this afternoon, Nancy Pelosi did this thing…” he said, trailing off as the show rolled a clip of Pelosi’s impeachment announcement from Tuesday afternoon. Thunderous applause quickly erupted as Colbert mugged for the crowd, looking up toward the heavens and then laughing during the lengthy standing ovation in the Ed Sullivan Theater.

“Aaahhhh, OK! OK! OK! OK, but how do you feel?” he joked, once the crowd settled down.

“I’ll say this— finally, a check on the president! Up until now, we’ve only had a check from the president…to a porn star.”

Watch the video above, via CBS.