Stephen Colbert Says GOP Senators Need 'Conscience-Canceling Headphones'

Stephen Colbert has lashed out at Republican senators for what he calls their lack of conscience.

The late-night host railed against the GOP lawmakers, many of whom have argued that the impeachment trial of Donald Trump should never have gone ahead.

"There was a lot of evidence," Colbert said of the Senate trial during Thursday's Late Show. "But there was also a lot of appealing to humanity."

He mentioned remarks by California Rep. Ted Lieu, one of the House impeachment managers, on Trump's "callousness" in the days after the Capitol riots and his absence from the funeral of Brian Sicknick, the police officer who died during the violence.

Colbert went on to say that "after watching the horrific images and damning timeline from yesterday's presentation, Senate Republicans are doing exactly what they did on January 6—running away from what they helped create."

After condemning GOP senators for appearing to be distracted, or "tuning out," during the trial, he played a fake advertisement for "conscience-canceling headphones."

"Today, even the most partisan senator can find it challenging to ignore damning testimony," the parody Apple commercial began.

"Hello. I'm Bjorn Umlaut Mendleshone, sound technician for Crapple.

"Introducing conscience-canceling headphones. The only headphones that cancel both ambient noise and your own sense of what's right. These are beautifully designed with an attractive mesh stitched 'R' for Republican.

"Here's how they work—the headphones use ultra-sensitive microphones to locate the tiny voice of reason in your head. They subdue it, whip it into submission until its butt is so shiny you can see your face in it. There is no safe word.

"And for our more budget-conscious senators, try our more affordable earbud version."

Mendleshone then stuck his fingers in his ears and repeated: "Blah blah blah."

The sketch ended: "So pick up conscience-canceling headphones today and wallow in the sound of ignorance."

On Wednesday's episode of The Late Show, Colbert got serious about the new evidence presented during the trial.

"It's not a waste of time, because whether or not the ex-president is impeached, or whether or not they vote to do the right thing to keep him from holding office again, it is important that one time, as a nation, we look this straight in the face and as it is laid out definitively for the unprecedented and premeditated violation that it is," he said.

"Because only by facing this truth will we have any hope of stopping it from happening again. Also, I'm pretty convinced it wasn't Antifa now."