The Late Show host Stephen Colbert roasted President Donald Trump over his approval rating in the wake of Attorney General William Barr's summary of the Mueller report after one poll showed his favorability went down despite what he claimed was total exoneration.
"Donald Trump's been living it up since the Barr report on the Mueller report totally cleared him of half the charges. And that is a huge boost, and you can see it in his approval ratings," Colbert said during his CBS show on Wednesday night.
"On March 23, the day before the Mueller report was delivered, Trump was at 41.9 percent. But today, with the collusion cloud lifted, that number has soared to 41.9 percent."
According to Barr's summary, special counsel Robert Mueller's confidential report did not find that the president, his campaign, or any of its associates conspired or coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
The attorney general also noted that Mueller did not exonerate Trump on charges of obstruction of justice related to the special counsel's long-running investigation, but also did not conclude that the president committed a crime.
Mueller instead deferred the decision to prosecute on the obstruction charges to Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who declined to pursue Trump.
"Voters were also asked if they had a more or less favorable view of Trump after Mueller's findings. Thirty-nine percent said more favorable while 43 percent said less favorable," Colbert said, referring to a Morning Consult poll.
"So let me get this straight. After finding out that he did not collude with the Russians, people liked him less. No collusion? Wait a second, I was hoping he was controlled by Putin 'cause that guy knows what he's talking about, unlike President Numbnuts over here."
TONIGHT: Did the Mueller report influence Trump's approval ratings? Let's do the complex calculations. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/qgr1vvJ9VZ
— A Late Show (@colbertlateshow) March 28, 2019
Trump has suggested he is happy for Mueller's report to be released to the public. Congressional Democrats are calling on Barr to release the Mueller report to them in full along with all supporting evidence.
It is not clear how much of the report will be released because of various legal and national security concerns about the information within it. Barr has said parts of the Mueller report will be released in April.
So far, Barr has only released a four page summary of Mueller's findings, which Democrats and Trump critics complain is not enough. They want to view the original report to draw their own conclusions from what Mueller found rather than have it filtered by a Trump appointee.
"Up to the attorney general. Wouldn't bother me at all," Trump told reporters when asked if he would like Mueller's report to be released in full earlier this week.
