“The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert zeroed in on the facts Monday night to dismantle one of Donald Trump’s latest slithery claims.
During a White House Christmas reception over the weekend, Trump went on a lengthy tangent about White House physician Dr. James Jones’ recovery from a viper bite in the Peruvian jungle during a trip with former President Barack Obama’s daughters. Trump claimed, during his monologue, that 28,000 people die from snake bites in Peru each year.
“Quick fact check here,” Colbert said. “He said 28,000 people die a year from snake bites in Peru.”
“That sounds over-exaggerated,” the host added, before playing a clip of Trump pushing back at the event saying: “That’s not over-exaggerated.”
“Yet it is,” Colbert shot back. “Yes, it is and don’t interrupt me. We have fact-checkers, and our fact-checkers fact-checked.”
Colbert then delivered the numbers: “The actual number of people who died from snake bites in Peru from the years 2000 to 2015, a period of time when one would imagine this story took place, is 10 total — in 15 years.”
He paused, pretending to crunch the math with a calculator to see “how far off” Trump was before zinging: “And the answer is … dementia.”
Watch Colbert’s full monologue here:
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