President Trump attacks 'filthy' Stephen Colbert over monologue

US President Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on late night talk show host Stephen Colbert, just a week after a controversial rant about him that was deemed homophobic by critics.

Colbert drew a mixture of praise and derision for the monologue on The Late Show, which was an insult-laden tirade against the President that incorporated a contentious joke about Mr Trump's mouth only being effective as Russian President Vladimir Putin's "c**k holster".

The headlines that remark attracted were thought to draw an apology from Colbert, but he instead used his next monologue to say he didn't regret it and claim the President can "take care of himself".

"I have jokes - he has the launch codes. So, it's a fair fight," he said.

But now President Trump has fired back by way of an interview with Time magazine, blasting Colbert for failing to consider how his words may be interpreted by children watching.

"You have a no-talent guy like Stephen Colbert. There's nothing funny about what he says - what he says is filthy. And you have kids watching," he said.

President Trump attracted similar criticism and was himself labelled filthy last year after video emerged of him bragging to TV host Billy Bush in 2005 that he could "grab [women] by the p***y" because he's "a star".

However Mr Trump clearly didn't see the irony, and launched another attack on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's show - this time on its ratings.

He said his presence on the programme in 2015, not long after he announced his GOP candidacy, brought the show's highest ratings of all time - and that any criticism Colbert launches at him only results in him getting more support.

"It only builds up my base. It only helps me, people like him. The guy was dying. By the way, they were going to take him off television, then he started attacking me and he started doing better," he explained.

"But his show was dying. I've done his show. But when I did his show, which by the way was very highly rated, it was high highest rating. The highest rating he's ever had."

Mr Trump is not the only world leader to attack a US late night TV host in recent times. Our very own Prime Minister Bill English labelled Last Week Tonight host John Oliver "not funny" after he made light of the National Party's court battle with Eminem over their use of a song that sounded like his.

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