A legal showdown between Donald Trump and Late Show host Stephen Colbert is brewing. During last night’s show, Colbert highlighted a quote from Trump’s recent interview with the Washington Post in which he said, “I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else’s brain can ever tell me.†Eagle-eyed fans of Colbert’s former late-night series, The Colbert Report, may have noticed what Colbert pointed out about that particular quote: It’s a near-exact ripoff of a classic bit he did not just on the first episode of his Comedy Central show but during his speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Dinner:
That’s where the truth comes from, ladies and gentlemen — the gut. Do you know you have more nerve endings in your stomach than in your head? Look it up. Now, somebody’s gonna say, “I did look that up, and it’s wrong.†Well, mister, that’s cause you looked it up in a book. Next time, try looking it up in your gut. I did, and my gut tells me that’s how our nervous system works.
“Trump stole my bit!†Colbert said during The Late Show last night after playing the old Colbert Report “Truthiness†clip. And he’s not going to just stand around and take this blatant theft. “That is clear copyright infringement. He is stealing my anti-intellectual property! So tonight, I am officially announcing that I am suing Donald J. Trump for stealing my old character. It’s official!†he announced. “You better lawyer up, buddy, and somebody better than Rudy Giuliani, too.â€
Check out both classic Colbert clips below, proving that the Late Show host was preaching the Good Word of the Gut long before Trump got started: