For CBS host of the The Late Show Stephen Colbert, Monday’s opening monologue was a good opportunity to play the race card on everything from Clarence Thomas and his friendship with Harlan Crow to Tennessee Republicans for expelling two lawmakers for their role in shutting down legislative proceedings.
Reacting to Thomas’s defense that there is nothing corrupt or improper with his relationship with Crow because the two are friends, Colbert shot back “He's your close personal friend that you know everything about, so I guess it would be really embarrassing to learn that Harlan Crow has a collection of Adolf Hitler artifacts and Nazi memorabilia, including two paintings by Hitler.”
While collecting artifacts from your fallen enemies is not for everyone, it is not unheard of and news of Crow’s collection isn’t new. A 2013 report on the matter also revealed that Crow has artifacts from SS Athenia, the first British ship sunk by the Germans in World War II and that his mother was aboard at the time of its sinking. Crow also has plenty of artifacts that have nothing do with Nazis or communism.
However, for Colbert there is only one possible explanation:
Ladies, take note. That is a red flag. That is a red flag. You never wanna have to tell your gal pals, ‘So I finally spent the night at Todd's. It was good, but he's got this really intense gaming setup. And two paintings by Hitler. Should I text him back, or-- what do I do?’ Crow also has a display of swastika-embossed linens. Yeah, yeah, it all comes with the monsters of history fine dining set. You get the Nazi napkins, the Pol pots and pans, and the Osama bin ladle. And it’s--act now.
Moving on, Colbert turned to Tennessee, “But for all that, it's not just the Judicial Branch, the legislative has its share of problems, especially in state legislatures like Tennessee 'cause after a week of large student-led protests in favor of gun control, the Republican-controlled Tennessee House voted to expel two of the three Democrats who participated in the protest.”
He then invited the audience to play a game, “I'm going to show you the three Democrats, and you have to guess which two they kicked out. Let’s see, Jimmy, let's put three tenths of a second on the clock. Go! [Buzzer] That's right! It's the two black guys.”
Being obsessed with racial politics, Colbert refused to see any other possible explanation, “But the GOP says there's nothing racist about this, explaining the two expelled lawmakers, Representatives Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson, broke the chamber's rules when they led gun reform chants from the House podium with a megaphone. While Representative Gloria Johnson wasn't expelled since she didn't speak into the megaphone. I think we all know that excuse is pure bull...horn.”
Do “we” all know that or does Colbert just believe that leading the disruption of legislative business is okay when Democrats do it?
This segment was sponsored by Allstate.
Here is a transcript for the April 10 show:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
4/9/2023
11:44 PM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: So, okay. I'll bite. He's your close personal friend that you know everything about, so I guess it would be really embarrassing to learn that Harlan Crow has a collection of Adolf Hitler artifacts and Nazi memorabilia, including two paintings by Hitler. Ladies, take note. That is a red flag. That is a red flag. You never wanna have to tell your gal pals, "So I finally spent the night at Todd's. It was good, but he's got this really intense gaming setup. And two paintings by Hitler. Should I text him back, or-- what do I do?”
Crow also has a display of swastika-embossed linens. Yeah, yeah, it all comes with the monsters of history fine dining set. You get the Nazi napkins, the Pol pots and pans, and the Osama bin ladle. And it’s--act now.
But for all that, it's not just the Judicial Branch, the legislative has its share of problems, especially in state legislatures like Tennessee 'cause after a week of large student-led protests in favor of gun control, the Republican-controlled Tennessee House voted to expel two of the three Democrats who participated in the protest. All right, audience. Let's play a little game.
No, no, let's play a little game. I'm going to show you the three Democrats, and you have to guess which two they kicked out. Let’s see, Jimmy, let's put three tenths of a second on the clock. Go! [Buzzer] That's right! It's the two black guys.
But the GOP says there's nothing racist about this, explaining the two expelled lawmakers, Representatives Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson, broke the chamber's rules when they led gun reform chants from the House podium with a megaphone. While Representative Gloria Johnson wasn't expelled since she didn't speak into the megaphone. I think we all know that excuse is pure bull...horn.
