Comedian Stephen Colbert delivered a stinging rebuke of Rudy Giuliani's legacy on Tuesday, using the cold open to The Late Show to suggest some unflattering gravestone inscriptions based on the lawyer's recent role as President Donald Trump's mouthpiece.
The Late Show broadcast the segment in response to comments Giuliani made to The New Yorker, in which he admitted he feared his headstone may someday read: "Rudy Giuliani: He lied for Trump."
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"Somehow, I don't think that will be it. But, if it is, so what do I care?" the former New York City mayor said in the interview. "I'll be dead. I figure I can explain it to St. Peter. He will be on my side."
The Late Show cold open showed a clip of a newscaster discussing the comments, followed by selection of "rough drafts" that could be used to mark Giuliani's final resting place.
"RIP: Ramble in perpetuity," was one, followed by, "Preceded in death by his lower teeth." The third made reference to one of Trump's most controversial policy decisions, and read: "Hope heaven doesn't have a travel ban," while the fourth referenced a famously embarrassing moment of Giuliani's career when fellow New Yorkers voiced their anger on his birthday—"Remember the time he got booed at Yankee Stadium?"
Giuliani has been characterized as Trump's attack dog, sent to deliver rounds of aggressive and obfuscating interviews light on facts or evidence. He has been regularly mocked for a wide range of outlandish statements, gaffes and outright lies while serving in this role.
"Here lies Rudy Giuliani," another draft headstone read in The Late Show segment. "And everywhere lied Rudy Giuliani." The next declared, "He died as he lived: Confused," followed by: "Probably still talking."
But the most scathing was held back until the end. Succinctly illustrating the damage his most recent role has done to his overall legacy, the final headstone read: "Rudy Giuliani: America's mayor, the president's bitch."
Giuliani has come in for a new round of flak this week—as has become the norm—after apparently revealing to The New Yorker he had listened to taped evidence from the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
"I can tell you, from the moment I read the story, I knew the story was false. Because I have been through all the tapes, I have been through all the texts, I have been through all the emails, and I knew none existed," he told the magazine.
But his interviewers then asked, "Wait, what tapes have you gone through?" Giuliani responded: "I shouldn't have said tapes. They alleged there were texts and emails that corroborated that Cohen was saying the president told him to lie. There were no texts, there were no emails, and the president never told him to lie."
His recent performances have caused such a stir that the Associated Press reported Wednesday that the president is considering at least temporarily banning Giuliani from live television performances.
