President Trump had international affairs on his mind Tuesday morning. In his speech before the United Nations, he threatened to “totally destroy North Korea.” He lambasted the Iran nuclear deal. And he proclaimed that parts of the world “are going to hell.”
But by late Tuesday night, Mr. Trump was focused on other things. He pulled out his iPhone to deliver a 139-character tweet for world consumption:
“I was saddened to see how bad the ratings were on the Emmys last night — the worst ever,” Mr. Trump began.
It was really only a matter of time before the president chimed in on the Emmy Awards. Politics dominated the event on Sunday night — both in the types of shows that won and the topic of the host Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue and the winners’ speeches.
Mr. Trump has expressed his displeasure with Emmys in years past, calling them rigged and dishonest. And the first minutes of Sunday’s broadcast seemed almost designed to goad the president to respond. Mr. Colbert noted that Mr. Trump was once part of Hollywood.
“And we all know the Emmys mean a lot to Donald Trump,” Mr. Colbert said in his monologue. “Because he was nominated multiple times for ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ but he never won. Why didn’t you give him an Emmy? I tell you this. If he had won an Emmy, I bet he wouldn’t have run for president. So in a way this is all your fault.”
Mr. Colbert added soon after: “What really matters to Donald Trump is ratings. You’ve got to have the big numbers. And I certainly hope we achieved that tonight.”
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