car horn announcer its the late show with Stephen Colbert. Tonight, checks and unbalanced. Plus, stephen welcomes will smith and andrew scott featuring jon batiste and stay human. And now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, its Stephen Colbert cheers and applause stephen oh, my goodness hey, everybody, thank you so much. Welcome to the late show. I am your host, Stephen Colbert. cheers and applause ladies and gentlemen, things arent going well for donald trump today. Half of Congress Absolutely hates him, and the democrats arent fond of him, either. laughter ill tell you all about it in tonights don and the giant impeach. cheers and applause i dont like to be the sucker. Stephen now, a lot of people have been saying up to this point, people have been musing publicly, when is the constitutional crisis coming . Well, mark your calendar, tattoo it on your forehead, and flip off your boss, because its here. laughter this afternoon, the white house delivered on their previous obstruction of justice with an official letter telling the house of representatives that trump will not cooperate with their impeachment inquiry. Yes, trump booing dont get him wrong. Dont get him wrong. Trump would like to help with their inquiry into his conversation with ukraine but, tragically, he has developed phone spurs. laughter the white house cheers and applause the white house got there. The white house made the announcement in an officially bitchy eightpage letter to congress, writing, given that your inquiry lacks any legitimate constitutional foundation, any pretense of fairness, or even the most elementary due process protections, the executive branch cannot be expected to participate in it. Wait, wait, wait, wait. booing you cant just not participate in your own impeachment. as judge sir, you are charged with assault and battery. How do you plead . as defendant um. Pass . laughter can i, can i buy a vowel . I would like to. Now, the letter is full of absolutely bonkers arguments, telling the democratic leadership, you have denied the president the right to cross examine witnesses. The witness is trumps incriminating phone transcript, which he released. If he wanted to, he could cross examine himself. as trump where was i on the night of the phone call . I was on the phone aha well, let me ask you this if thats the case, did you get any dirt on joe biden . laughter applause now, the letter same letter cheers and applause the letter whines on, the president cannot allow your constitutionally illegitimate proceedings to distract him and those in the executive branch from their work on behalf of the american people. The president has a country to lead. Yes. And its ukraine. laughter hes leading them straight into putins arms. applause come to papa. Now, this letter came to the house, just hours after the house was all set to hear testimony from ambassador to the european union, gordon sondland, seen here realizing, im going to jail for that guy . laughter House Democrats want to ask sondland about a series of texts he sent to the former ambassador to ukraine, which revealed that trump put pressure on the ukrainians to investigate joe biden. But sondlands lawyers learned the administration wouldnt let the ambassador testify, after the state Department Left a voice mail last night at 12 30 a. M. First off, state department, just text. laughter nobody wants to listen to voice mail. Also, people who calls that late only want one thing. Hi. laughter hey, gordon, yeah, hey, its me. Its me, under secretary for trade negotiations. I was just calling because i was thinking how much i want you. Not to testify tomorrow. laughter gordon. Gordon. What are you not wearing . laughter now, according to house intelligence chairman adam schiff, sondlands testimony is not the only thing the white house is blocking. We are also aware that the ambassador has Text Messages or emails on a personal device. The state department is withholding those messages as well. The failure to produce these documents, we consider yet additional strong evidence of obstruction of the constitutional functions of congress. Stephen and obstruction of an impeachment inquiry is itself grounds for impeachment. This whole thing is like that m. C. Escher print hands cuffing themselves. applause but trump, trump cheers and applause they love escher jokes. piano riff they love. But trump insists that he has nothing wrong, has nothing to hide, tweeting, i would love to send ambassador sondland, a really good man and great american, to testify. But unfortunately, he would be testifying before a totally compromised kangaroo court. Um, first, you know this is congress and not a court, right . Second, you also know there are no actual kangaroos. Theres no koala bailiff, no dingo judge, the gavels not a boomerang, and the jury is not all crocodiles dundee. laughter i ask i ask because the whole kangaroo metaphor, this theme has been popular among republicans. Take florida representative and star of frat baby matt gaetz. laughter what we see in this impeachment is a kangaroo court, and chairman schiff is acting like a malicious captain kangaroo. Stephen as gaetz chairman schiff is acting like a malicious captain kangaroo. Trumps being railroaded by the terrifying thomas the tank engine. laughter this whole thing is a load of howdy doody, and its brought to you by the letters f and u. laughter cheers and Applause Congress no, im mad no, im still in character as matt gaetz piano riff jon put it down stephen Congress Still wants to hear from the original whistleblower who started this whole thing. And theyre taking every precaution. In fact, House Democrats are considering masking the identity of the whistleblower from trumps g. O. P. Allies in congress. Hold on the whistleblower is defending democracy and gets to wear a mask. Is it this guy . cheers and applause the democrats thank you, cap i dont know who it is. I dont know who it is. The democrats are also considering having the whistleblower alter his voice, possibly with modification technology. Possibly with modification technology. What other way would they possibly do it . cheers and applause high pitched voice President Trump has betrayed our nations core ideals and turned his back on all that we stand for he must be removed from office before democracy erodes beneath our feet. I say this not just as a patriot, but as a member of the Lollipop Guild the Lollipop Guild the Lollipop Guild laughter cheers and applause i represent the Inspector General and wed like to go and drag your ass to jail now cheers and applause oh, thats good. Thats a high. Thats a high. Jon get it all in. Get it in. Stephen loving you is easy cause youre beautiful thank you. cheers and applause lets turn now to trumps recent phone call with turkish president erdogan, in which trump sold out our kurdish allies. A National Security council official with direct knowledge of the call says trump got rolled. Well, thats not hard. Just get him to the top of any hill and give him a gentle shove. laughter jon oh my goodness. Stephen the official also argued that abandoning the kurds sets a dangerous precedent, and hurts American Foreign policy in the long term, saying, we are telling the world we will use you and then throw you away. Which, coincidentally, were also trumps wedding vows. laughter now, trump fired back applause based on a true story. That joke is based on a true story. Trump fired back at his critics on twitter, we may be in the process of leaving syria, but in no way have we abandoned the kurds, who are special people and wonderful fighters. Doesnt being in the process of leaving mean the same thing as abandoning . Thats like a father saying, im not abandoning you kids. Im just in the process of leaving for a pack of cigarettes and never coming back. laughter youll be fine. Youre wonderful fighters. laughter but he applause all right. But the president tweeted on, likewise, our relationship with turkey, a nato and trading partner, has been very good. Turkey already has a large kurdish population and fully, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, understands that while we only had 50 soldiers remaining in that section of syria, and they have been removed, any unforced or unnecessary fighting by turkey will be devastating to their economy and to their very fragile currency. We are helping the kurds financially weapons laughter as trump hey, kurds, id like to help you financially weapons let me give you a few bucks guns and a Little Pocket change bullets ill throw in some coupons nunchucks laughter trump also cheers and applause trump also wanted to remind everyone that turkey is our friend, tweeting, so many people conveniently forget that turkey is a big trading partner of the United States. Also remember, and importantly, that turkey is an important member in Good Standing of nato. He is coming to the u. S. As my guest on november 13. He . laughter what the hell . Thats confusing. Is the he turkish president erdogan . So does that mean trump calls other World Leaders by their countrys name . as trump we are america. We are pleased to meet you turkey, france, bleep hole. laughter now, trumps decision trumps decision to abandon the kurds has upset even some of his most loyal supporters, like televangelist and Discount Halloween decoration, Pat Robertson. laughter robertson was on the 700 club and he said this i am absolutely appalled that the United States is going to betray those Democratic Forces in northern syria, that we possibly are going to allow the turks to come in against the kurds. The president of the United States is in danger of losing the mandate of heaven if he permits this to happen. Stephen what the huh . laughter the mandate of heaven. I wonder if he really has lost the mandate of heaven. Lets ask the main man of heaven himself. God, everybody. God, thank you so much for joining us tonight. Hey, stephen cheers and applause hello, all of you made in my image. Looking good stephen hey, lord, its been a while. Yeah, sorry, ive been busy. Im a consulting producer on god friended me, sundays at 8 00, 7 00 central. Only cbs. laughter stephen yeah, i, i hear good things. Its a good show. Stephen but did you hear that statement from Pat Robertson claiming that trump is in danger of losing the mandate of heaven . Oh, he is. Im seriously considering not voting for him this time. Stephen wait, what . You voted for trump . Yeah, im his core demographic angry, old white man living in a gated community. laughter also, hes been really good for my 401 k applause stephen well, why would you be turning on him . I dont think hes fit to be commander in chief. Last night during his bedtime prayers he asked for dirt on joe biden. No dice. Yeah, no way. This time im voting for andrew yang. I really need that 1,000. Thats the sound of the lord voting for the yang gang stephen god, everybody. Weve got a great show for you tonight. Will smith is here thats right, will smith will join us. cheers and applause man sneezes whats the time . Device a dime is ten cents. Severe cold or flu . Take control with theraflu. Powerful, soothing relief to defeat your worst cold and flu symptoms fast. Device sneezes theraflu. The power is in your hands. Depend® silhouette™ briefs feature maximum absorbency, with trusted protection for all out confidence. Beautiful colors and an improved fit for a sleek design and personal style. Lifes better when youre in it. Be there with depend®. Plaque psoriasis uncoverth clearer skin that can last. In fact, tremfya® was proven superior to humira® in providing significantly clearer skin. Tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Tremfya®. Uncover clearer skin that can last. Janssen can help you explore cost support options. its perfect. Unwrap more fun this holiday with matching family pjs. Plus get up to 30 off Sharper Image jcpenney. cheers and applause stephen straight in, everybody, straight in. Hey, everybody welcome back ladies and gentlemen, you know my first guest tonight from independence day, men in black, ali, and aladdin. His new film is gemini man. Please welcome back to the show, will smith cheers and applause applause hey hey cheers and applause cheers and applause stephen woooo woooo woooo wooo woooo woooo cheers and applause laughter stephen nice that was fun stephen good to see you. cheers and applause did i did i win . Did i win . Did i win . Stephen you did you did i dont like somebody to be out loved by my audience. Im a needy man. You dont get this job without being needy, will smith. You come into my house, and they love you more than me . You know, i was just backstage, you know, jealous you were getting all the love. I said, i need some of that on my face when i go out there. Stephen thank you for being here. Youre a busy man. I know, im doing a lot. Stephen besides, well, the premiere of gemini man is this weekend. Yeah, absolutely. Stephen but you also and this, i love this. You were down in atlanta. Oh, yeah down in hotlanta. Stephen for hotlanta. Tyler perry has created his own studio. His own studio. Stephen on 330 acres just outside of atlanta. Yes, absolutely, yeah. cheers and applause stephen people are calling it people are calling it black hollywood. Yeah, black hollywood yeah already . He better make some movies out of there to pay for it. laughter stephen and one of the great things i found out is, there are, like, 12 sound studios there. Yeah, it was spectacular. Stephen i mean film studios. And one of them is named after you. Yes, yeah. Stephen thats extraordinary. The will smith soundstage. Soundstage, yeah. It was fantastic. cheers and applause yup. applause stephen what did that mean to you . You know, it was so beautiful. It was like, you know, everybody that showed up for him. The soundstages are set on what used to be a Confederate Army base, right . You know, so, its like, tyler was, you know, 20 years ago, was homeless, you know. So for him to make that transition and to create this place, and everybody that showed up, you know there was me, and halle berry and denzel, and oprah oh, yeah, there you go. Stephen oprah with your lovely wife. Oprah and stedman right there. applause yeah, you know, it was it was just really a spectacular evening. And oprah got the oprah got the big stage at the end. Thats the one, the Oprah Winfrey sound studio. Stephen shes oprah. Shes oprah, you know. Stephen yeah. I was laughter you know, because i was happy with mine, you know. Stephen yes. laughter and then i saw oprahs. laughter yeah. Stephen you know what . Ive had that experience very similar. Im very happy with my house. Yes, yeah. Stephen then i saw oprahs. Yeah laughter yeah, you know. Yeah, oprah just got and you know whats interesting about oprah . Like, oprah has been famous so long, that whoevers there, when oprahs there, youre her assistant, right . laughter like, you just have to help oprah. Stephen sure. Like, oprah will just start walking, and youre like, hey, miss winfrey, here you go, you forgot heres your coffee. You just feel like you have to assist. laughter stephen yeah, but happily, though. Happily, though no, youre very happy. You know. Ive seen barack get oprah something to eat, yeah. laughter yeah. laughter and applause stephen wow. Okay, well, lets talk about lets talk about your new film, gemini man. Gemini man. Stephen i saw it last week in, i think, ang lees in his screening room. Yes. Stephen here in manhattan. Which is, like, the best possible situation to watch it. 120 frames per second. Per second. Stephen 4k. 3d. Stephen 3d. Unbelievable. Yeah, so, ang lee, what he did with this film is really spectacular. Hes trying to he realized that home systems are you know, your Television Sound and screen at home are spectacular now. So hes trying to create a new reason for people to go to a movie theater. So, with the 120 frames per second meaning its super clear the cameras are so crystal clear, and he wants it to respond like you see real life, and youre being immersed into the 3d. You have to see it in 3d. I know you can see it on the regular screens, but you have to see it in 3d, because it is really its not old school. Its not your daddys 3d. Stephen no i kind of want to see it twice. Ive seen it once now in the maxedout everything, and now i want to see it, like, in 2d, like 24 frames per second, just to see what the experience is like. Because it really felt like i was in the film. It was like i was young will smith. laughter that seems that seems that seems strange, mr. Colbert. laughter stephen now. So this character this is the first time im sorry, i didnt mean to cut you off on your own show. Stephen no, no, no, no, no. Youre the guest. Yeah, yeah. Stephen you actually can cut me off. I can only cut you off like, you always get to talk first. Okay, okay, good, because i come in and im stealing all your love, and. Stephen not at all, no, no. I dont want to interrupt you, ever. Please go, please go. laughter so stephen one more thing, though. laughter yes . laughter stephen i just have to. I just wanted to. laughter cheers and applause okay, sorry, go ahead. Oh, man. No, so this character is the firstever 100 digital human. The young will smith. So when you see it, it isnt de aging, right . So its not me playing the character and they just stretch out my face and make me look younger. It actually is a 100 digital character, right. Its the first time ever. Stephen right. And so, ang is you know, the technology that he created stephen but you fight yourself. I fight myself. Stephen how do you fight a purely digital like literally, like facetoface press and slamming each other into walls. How do you fight a purely digital there has got to be something physically there, right . Do you have a tackling dummy . Right, so there are, there are there are stunt people, so you do it with stunt people. Stephen okay. And then they totally replace the stephen person. The pers