Meyers, Colbert Denounce 'Naked Authoritarianism' Of Pro-Hamas Student's Arrest #Political
NBC’s Late Night and CBS’s The Late Show hosts Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert were greatly displeased on their Wednesday shows that the Trump Administration is seeking to deport pro-Hamas Columbia University protest leader Mahmoud Khalil. As they tell it, Khalil is not the leader of an illegal protest movement that occupied school property and distributed pro-terrorist literature but a victim of Trump’s “naked authoritarianism” and East German-like desire to eliminate dissent.
Meyers transitioned from Trump’s recent White House event with Elon Musk and Tesla cars to the Khalil story by declaring, “This is how oligarchy works. If you're favored by the regime, you get an infomercial paid for by taxpayers. But if you say something the regime doesn't like, you get disappeared in the middle of the night without due process or an accusation of a crime.”
A series of news clips ended with NBC’s Aaron Gilchrist claiming, “At this point, we have not seen any evidence of any sort of crime having been committed here.”
Of course, Khalil could be kicked out on national security grounds alone, but Meyers wasn’t interested in that, “Immigration agents arrested a legal permanent resident with a green card who is married to an American citizen without even charging him with a crime. Meanwhile, a guy who was actually convicted of 34 felony counts is currently palling around in a Tesla on the White House lawn.”
Meyers ended by claiming, “This is a grotesque and abhorrent abuse of power, it's naked authoritarianism. You can't arrest and deport someone for speech you don't like, especially if they haven't been charged with a crime. Americans are not on board for Trump's authoritarian takeover. Which is why his poll numbers are so low. On three key issues: the economy, inflation, and free speech. Trump's performance has been—”
The sentence ended with a clip of CNN polling guru Harry Enten adding, “Awful, awful, awful.”
About an hour earlier, Colbert lamented, “Another cool thing that's totally normal is arresting folks without any charges. This weekend, here in New York, ICE agents arrested a Palestinian activist who helped lead the Columbia University protests, detaining him without presenting a warrant or any filed charges, and whisking him to a detention facility in Louisiana without telling his wife, who is eight months pregnant.”
Amid booing from the audience, Colbert continued, “Yes, yes. If you don't like that, you have a constitutional right to protest it. And just by doing so, you could win a free trip to Louisiana.”
Colbert also alleged, “Trump's goons aren't just jack-booted thugs, they're also slow-witted doofs. Because according to the detained man's lawyer, the ICE agents who took him into custody initially claimed to be acting on a State Department order to revoke his student visa, but his lawyer told them he was actually a permanent resident with a green card, so they said they would revoke that documentation instead.”
Breaking out his Trump impression, Colbert continued, “Despite the mistake, Trump made sure to let us know this was no mistake, posting, ‘This is the first arrest of many to come.’ So he is gonna arrest anyone who disagrees with him? Even me? John Oliver?"
After a Tuesday of Nazi and Soviet analogies, Colbert tried something different as he reached for East Germany, “Whether or not you agree with this protestor and what he did or if you disagree with this protestor and what he did, if you think this kind of thing will end with students, I've got a wall in Berlin to sell you.
The point of the Berlin Wall was to keep people in, but that aside, Colbert and Oliver are both U.S. citizens who don’t pass out pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah propaganda at illegal occupations of university property, so no, Trump will not be arresting them.
Here are transcripts for the March 12-taped shows:
NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers
3/13/2025
12:51 AM ET
SETH MEYERS: This is how oligarchy works. If you're favored by the regime, you get an infomercial paid for by taxpayers. But if you say something the regime doesn't like, you get disappeared in the middle of the night without due process or an accusation of a crime.
LOCAL NEWS REPORTER: A Palestinian activist who helped lead the protest at Columbia University is in ICE custody. Mahmoud Khalil's attorney saying in a statement, that he was wrongfully arrested by immigration agents "claiming his student Visa was revoked, even though he is a legal permanent resident and not in the U.S. on a student visa."
ANA CABRERA: Days after immigration agents arrested Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a judge has blocked his deportation. Khalil was detained Saturday near the Columbia University campus in New York City. His attorney says ICE agents claimed his student visa was revoked, but even upon learning he was actually a permanent resident with a green card, ICE detained him anyway. The arrest sparked large protests here in New York yesterday [jump cut] Has the administration provided any evidence beyond just he was organizing protests they didn't like?
AARON GILCHRIST: Evidence, no. At this point, we have not seen any evidence of any sort of crime having been committed here.
MEYERS: Immigration agents arrested a legal permanent resident with a green card who is married to an American citizen without even charging him with a crime. Meanwhile, a guy who was actually convicted of 34 felony counts is currently palling around in a Tesla on the White House lawn. Which is just a horrifying photo. Looks like the two men you see in Miami: a weird old businessman and a creep in sunglasses
[DONALD TRUMP VOICE] Hey ladies, you want to check out -- it's like a golf cart but faster. Also, I don't know if you heard the news, everything's computer.
[NORMAL VOICE] This is a grotesque and abhorrent abuse of power, it's naked authoritarianism. You can't arrest and deport someone for speech you don't like, especially if they haven't been charged with a crime. Americans are not on board for Trump's authoritarian takeover. Which is why his poll numbers are so low. On three key issues: the economy, inflation, and free speech. Trump's performance has been –
HARRY ENTEN: Awful, awful, awful.
***
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
3/12/2025
11:43 PM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: Another cool thing that's totally normal is arresting folks without any charges. This weekend, here in New York, ICE agents arrested a Palestinian activist who helped lead the Columbia University protests, detaining him without presenting a warrant or any filed charges, and whisking him to a detention facility in Louisiana without telling his wife, who is eight months pregnant.
Yes, yes. If you don't like that, you have a constitutional right to protest it. And just by doing so, you could win a free trip to Louisiana. Laissez les end times rouler.
Trump's goons aren't just jack-booted thugs, they're also slow-witted doofs. Because according to the detained man's lawyer, the ICE agents who took him into custody initially claimed to be acting on a State Department order to revoke his student visa, but his lawyer told them he was actually a permanent resident with a green card, so they said they would revoke that documentation instead.
They didn't even know what they were arresting him for! "What? No student visa? Then we're revoking your Sephora Beauty Insider card No more free birthday samples for you, mister! Say hello to crow's feet."
Despite the mistake, Trump made sure to let us know this was no mistake, posting: [TRUMP VOICE] "This is the first arrest of many to come."
[NORMAL VOICE]: So he is gonna arrest anyone who disagrees with him? Even me? John Oliver? [BRITISH ACCENT] "Blimey!"
Whether or not you agree with this protestor and what he did or if you disagree with this protestor and what he did, if you think this kind of thing will end with students, I've got a wall in Berlin to sell you. Because Trump is also mad at nationwide protests at Tesla dealerships, and you know Trump is a huge fan of that brand, as he said at the White House Tesla sales event.
DONALD TRUMP: I love Tesler.
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