Stephen Colbert on DHS pick Markwayne Mullin: ‘Has a history of being real dumb and real angry about it’
Late-night hosts recapped Markwayne Mullin’s risible confirmation hearing for homeland security secretary and Maga’s struggles to sell the war in Iran to sticker-shocked Americans,On Wednesday’s Late Show, Stephen Colbert looked into the resignation this week of Joe Kent, Donald Trump’s director of the national counterterrorism center, in protest of the administration’s war in Iran and the fact that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation”,“So the US is going to war in the Middle East without an imminent threat to our nation … AGAIN?” Colbert joked, sitcom-style,“Now, before anybody sends this guy an Edible Arrangement in the shape of the word ‘hero’, keep in mind: he sucks,” he continued, before reminding viewers that during his failed 2022 congressional bid, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the Proud Boys, for consulting work, and worked closely with Joey Gibson, founder of the rightwing group Patriot Prayer,Kent has also blamed Israel for the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
“Now, I’m not saying he’s an antisemite … because a lot of people beat me to it,” said Colbert,He quoted Representative Don Bacon, who said: “Good riddance,Antisemitism is an evil I detest, and we surely don’t want it in our government,”Colbert added: “Bacon is standing up for the Jewish people, and he’s not even kosher!”The host also touched on Mullin, Trump’s pick to replace ousted homeland security chief Kristi Noem, who himself said at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday: “I’m not going to be the smartest guy in any room I walk into,”Mullin, Colbert noted, “has a history of being real dumb and real angry about it”.
At the hearing, he was pressed by Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator who a few years ago was assaulted and hospitalized by a disgruntled neighbor.At the time, Mullin said he “understood” why Paul was attacked.Paul asked Mullin to explain why Americans “should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and border patrol agents”.“Now, while that is a valid question – and it is a valid question – Senator Paul knows that ‘anger issues’ are the top requirement for ICE and border patrol agents,” Colbert responded.“Right above not being the smartest person in any room you walk into.
”On Late Night, Seth Meyers also recapped Mullin’s confirmation hearing, during which he claimed, in response to Paul, that he was “simply pointing out … some of the rules that still apply to this body, for instance dueling with two consenting adults is still there”.Paul responded tersely: “It’s been illegal for 170 years.There’s no precedent for legal dueling.”“I don’t know which part of that is weirder, that Markwayne thought dueling was still legal, or that Rand immediately knew it hasn’t been legal for 170 years,” Meyers said.“If you challenge Rand to a duel and said, ‘Name the time and the place,’ he’d say: ‘Uh, I’m not sure about the place, but let’s make the time the year 1856.
’”“Also very funny to describe a duel as being between two consenting adults,” he added.“You know, because if only one person consents, that’s murder.“But that’s the philosophy of Maga: violence and brute force rule the world.They can do whatever they want,” he continued.“Which is why even the voices within the administration who were the loudest against war with Iran are now changing their tune,” such as Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s national intelligence director.
When she was running for president as a Democrat in 2019, Gabbard criticized Trump and his “chickenhawk” cabinet for bringing the US “to the brink of war with Iran”, which would be “far more devastating, far more costly than anything that we saw in Iraq”,Yet at her own congressional hearing on Wednesday, Gabbard defended Trump’s attacks on Iran as a “strategic success”,The about-face represented “the new Maga”, said Meyers,“They lied about ending foreign wars, all they care about is power, they can invade any country they want,”In Los Angeles, Jimmy Kimmel ridiculed Trump for “strong-arming the Senate right now to try to save himself from getting his ass handed to him in the midterm elections” with his proposed Save America Act that would require passports for voting, among other onerous restrictions.
“Trump is now in full bully mode,” Kimmel noted.“He’s forcing Republican senators to debate this bill he dreamed up to fight back against these completely fabricated claims of voter fraud.It’s like if he made them build another wall at the Mexican border, to keep the chupacabra out.That’s how crucial this bill is.”The bill currently does not have the 60 votes required to pass thanks to a few Republican holdouts, “which is encouraging”, said Kimmel.
Trump has said that he will not endorse any Republican who refuses to support the bill and will do what he can to ruin them.“He’s either going to ruin them, or the country, it’s their choice.”“But make no mistake: imaginary voter fraud aside, our president is laser-focused on the issues that matter most to us, like windmills,” said Kimmel, as the Trump administration is now reportedly exploring the idea of paying $1bn to stop a French energy company from building wind farm projects off the coasts of New York and North Carolina.“A billion dollars of our money to cancel projects that harness an endless resource, wind,” he lamented.“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the kind of math that bankrupts casinos.
”And on The Daily Show, Jordan Klepper examined a tough bind for Trump’s supporters, as his war in Iran sends gas prices soaring.“High gas prices have Maga world in a tricky position now, because there’s no way to spin it as a good thing to the American people,” he explained.“Unless, you know what? Unless, what if we’re the problem.”Klepper then played a series of Maga-rationalizing clips.“People are talking like this is the end of the world.
No, it’s not,” said Larry Kudlow on Fox News,Said a Newsmax host: “I can handle the gas prices, people can handle the gas prices,We’re hardly ever called on to sacrifice anything any more,”“Think of how much worse it was in world war two than what we’re facing now,” said another Fox News commentator,“Is that the bar now?” Klepper exclaimed.
“It’s not as bad as the worst war in human history, so stop bitching? I mean, you can dismiss any concerns that way.‘Oh, you’re upset because home ownership is out of reach? You know who else doesn’t have a home? Saving Private Ryan.’“But you heard them: this is just temporary pain that will all be worth it in the long term,” he added.“I’m sure every day Americans will understand and will take this in stride … ”Klepper then played a clip of a three-time Trump voter in Pennsylvania who, when asked by a reporter if she had a message for the president, was very succinct: “You are a worthless pile of shit.”“Well, someone’s not getting an invite to the new ballroom,” Klepper quipped.
Prolonged high oil prices could ‘crimp’ AI boom, WTO warns
An extended period of high oil prices as a result of war in the Middle East could “crimp” the AI boom, the World Trade Organization’s chief economist has warned.The war and its impact on energy and fertiliser costs is the main risk to the global economy identified in the WTO’s latest Global Trade Outlook.But the Geneva-based body also raised a question mark about the continued strength of AI investment, which in 2025 helped to offset the hit to global trade from Donald Trump’s tariffs.“There is an interesting possible interaction between the Middle East conflict and the AI boom, in part because the boom is very energy-intensive,” said the WTO’s chief economist, Robert Staiger. “If the price of energy continues to be elevated for the whole year, that could put a crimp on the AI boom
Europe’s biggest airlines say fuel price spike caused by Iran war will drive up fares
Europe’s biggest airlines have said the rise in fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East will drive up fares and are advising passengers to book early.While carriers have partly hedged the price of jet fuel, bosses said they could not keep avoiding passing on additional costs to passengers for long.Long-haul airlines such as Air France-KLM and Lufthansa said they would be adding more flights via Asia with Gulf carriers’ hubs either shut or operating at a reduced level since the US-Israeli attack on Iran.EasyJet dismissed any fears of imminent fuel shortages affecting flights in Europe despite concerns about supplies in parts of Asia, with Vietnamese airlines this week warning that they may reduce schedules.Kenton Jarvis, the airline’s chief executive, said it was “not seeing any issues” with its fuel supply
‘Alright mate?’: Amazon pins UK hopes on AI upgrade of Alexa
“Commiserations, mate, Chelsea lost 3-0 in the Champions League last night against Paris Saint-Germain,” says Alexa as it attempts to break the news gently to an awaiting Blues fan. Such is the injection of personality and understanding that Amazon hopes will lead to Britons re-engaging with their millions of Alexa devices, restoring it to the cutting edge of voice assistants rather than resigned to being a glorified egg timer.After its early access launch last year in the US, the long-awaited generative AI upgrade Alexa+ is finally making its debut in the UK, supporting eight years of existing devices strewn through more than half of UK households. With the UK being Amazon’s most engaged market and more than 40 accents to contend with across the UK and Ireland, the “next-generation ambient AI assistant” has its work cut out for it.The service will be available immediately for new purchases of Amazon’s latest generation of Echo and Show devices, with an invite system in operation for existing devices, which Amazon’s head of Alexa and Echo, Daniel Rausch, insists will progress faster than it did in the US
Inside China’s robotics revolution
Chen Liang, the founder of Guchi Robotics, an automation company headquartered in Shanghai, is a tall, heavy-set man in his mid-40s with square-rimmed glasses. His everyday manner is calm and understated, but when he is in his element – up close with the technology he builds, or in business meetings discussing the imminent replacement of human workers by robots – he wears an exuberant smile that brings to mind an intern on his first day at his dream job. Guchi makes the machines that install wheels, dashboards and windows for many of the top Chinese car brands, including BYD and Nio. He took the name from the Chinese word guzhi, “steadfast intelligence”, though the fact that it sounded like an Italian luxury brand was not entirely unwelcome.For the better part of two decades, Chen has tried to solve what, to him, is an engineering problem: how to eliminate – or, in his view, liberate – as many workers in car factories as technologically possible
March Madness 2026 women’s predictions: can anyone thwart a UConn repeat?
Can anyone derail the Connecticut juggernaut? Our contributors pick the winners, sleepers and upsets for this year’s women’s NCAA TournamentThere have been just four women’s Final Fours featuring all No 1 seeds. This year feels like it could give us the fifth. UConn v South Carolina would be a tantalizing rematch of last year’s national championship game – made even more interesting by the fact they didn’t meet in the regular season for the first time since 2013-14. Texas held off a late UCLA comeback when they played in November, but the Bruins have rolled off 25 straight wins since. EBCircle the date for UConn v South Carolina in the national semi-finals on Friday 3 April
‘The only thing left for me was death’: meet the meth-addict long jumper who has been to hell and back
Three years ago Luvo Manyonga knew he must change his life or die. In Poland this week, the former world champion makes an extraordinary return to athletics’ top tableSprawled prone in the dirt, the cold metal of a baseball bat cracking against his skull, spine and down to the legs that had once propelled him to glory, Luvo Manyonga experienced an epiphany. This existence could not continue; he must change his life or die.Manyonga had been a drug addict for as long as he could remember, seeking recreational highs that provided the opposite of the performance-enhancing shortcuts that some of his deceitful athletics rivals might have pursued.At times, he just about kept his habit in check
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