CBS’s Stephen Colbert welcomed radio host Charlamagne Tha God to a live edition of The Late Show on night three of the Republican National Convention to irresponsibly suggest that if President Biden, or some other Democrat, wins in November, the Supreme Court will nullify it. He also suggested that Donald Trump’s rhetoric led to his being shot on Saturday, while also attacking the media for not calling him a threat to democracy in the shooting’s aftermath.
Colbert asked, “You’re very honest about your struggles with anxiety. I admire you're willing to talk about that. Is there anything right now in the world that is making you anxious? Or particularly anxious?”
Charlamagne immediately launched into a broad attack on the Supreme Court, “I feel, you know, right now the Supreme Court as we know it is no longer a legitimate institution. I think the Supreme Court is a completely— I think the Supreme Court is completely corrupt.”
After running through cases related to bribery, presidential immunity, and Chevron deference, he mused:
Do we think that our democracy is healthy enough to have a free and fair election come November? Right, and the reason I ask that question is because I don't know who's going to be at the top of the Democratic ticket, but we know these elections are usually close. So, let's say, you know, the Democratic candidate does win come November. What happens when, you know, Donald Trump challenges that ruling? What happens when that ruling gets to the Supreme Court? In light of all the recent rulings that the Supreme Court has done, who do you think they are going to side with?
Trump brought all sorts of lawsuits after 2020, and they all went nowhere. As for Colbert, he simply replied, “Well,” before Charlamagne continued, “Don't start hmming about it now. You all should’ve been thinking about this.”
Colbert retorted, “I think about little else, man. Have you watched my show?”
Later, Colbert would wonder, “The idea of toning down the rhetoric…You speak frankly on any issue. How can you speak frankly to the state of politics in America and the United States without risking inflaming someone?”
Charlamagne then proceeded to go on an extended diatribe against everybody, from Donald Trump to the media to Speaker Mike Johnson to VP-nominee JD Vance to Nikki Haley. First, on Trump, he appeared to blame the victim:
You can condemn what happened to Donald Trump on Saturday, but you have to be honest and say that the rhetoric that Donald Trump has been spewing since 2016 has been creating an environment of political violence that's not even safe for him, and, you know, he's been cavalier about a lot of the political violence that has been happening in this country, and, you know, it's easy to be cavalier about it when it's happening to the other side, but when it starts happening to you, then what?
He also lamented, “I have been very disappointed in the media this week because I knew this was going to happen. I knew people were going to stop talking about, you know, the things that the Supreme Court was doing. I knew they were going to stop saying Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. I knew they were going to stop talking about things like Project 2025 and I think that's doing a disservice to the American people by doing that because we're all adults.”
Before anyone could ask if we were talking about the same media, he continued, “And when you saw— when I see House Speaker Mike Johnson say things like, what did he say about Trump? He said that, oh yeah, he said, ‘We have to tamper down on the rhetoric. Everyone has to tamper down on the rhetoric.’ No, one person should actually tamper down on the rhetoric, right?”
Finally, Charlamagne wondered what the big deal about Doomsday prophecies is, “then you see his now running mate, JD Vance, you know, he said it was the Democrats dangerous rhetoric that caused something like that to happen. Really? JD Vance, you said he was Hitler. Nikki Haley said he was an agent of chaos. So, it wasn't just Democrats, you know, speaking the truth to the matter. It's okay, I think, you know, to tell the truth in this country.”
In that case, it shouldn’t be considered controversial to say that Charlamagne Tha God is losing his mind.
Here is a transcript for the July 18 show:
CBS The Late Show
7/18/2024
12:53 AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: We’ll go to the book in a moment, Get Honest or Die Lying.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yes.
COLBERT: There you go right there, but first, I want to talk to you about some other stuff that I've read in your other books. You’re very honest about your struggles with anxiety.
CHARLAMAGNE: Absolutely.
COLBERT: I admire you're willing to talk about that. Is there anything right now in the world that is making you anxious? Or particularly anxious?
CHARLAMAGNE: Oh, man. Where to begin. We are in the United States of Anxiety. You know, one thing I've been talking about a lot with my listeners, man, is that I feel, you know, right now the Supreme Court as we know it is no longer a legitimate institution. I think the Supreme Court is a completely— I think the Supreme Court is completely corrupt. I mean, when you look at things like the fact that they made bribery legal for public officials, when you look at—
COLBERT: Well, people may not know—this is my favorite ruling. There's some good ones recently—
CHARLAMAGNE: Okay.
COLBERT: — but there was a guy who solicited, like, $13,000 from some business interest before he did something in his official capacity. They tried to charge them with bribery. But the Supreme Court said no, they gave it to them afterward—
CHARLAMAGNE: Yes.
COLBERT: — so it's more like a gratuity—
CHARLAMAGNE: It's called gratuity now.
COLBERT: Exactly.
CHARLAMAGNE: Then the presidential immunity where they made it —presidents can get away with committing crimes as long as it's an “official act.”
COLBERT: Which, they get to decide what's official or not.
CHARLAMAGNE: That's right. Then they overturned the Chevron ruling.
COLBERT: Right.
CHARLAMAGNE: So, my fear is that we have to really ask ourselves a question. Do we think that our democracy is healthy enough to have a free and fair election come November? Right, and the reason I ask that question is because I don't know who's going to be at the top of the Democratic ticket, but we know these elections are usually close. So, let's say, you know, the Democratic candidate does win come November. What happens when, you know, Donald Trump challenges that ruling? What happens when that ruling gets to the Supreme Court? In light of all the recent rulings that the Supreme Court has done, who do you think they are going to side with?
COLBERT: Well.
CHARLAMAGNE: Don't start hmming about it now. You all should’ve been thinking about this.
COLBERT: I think about little else, man. Have you watched my show?
…
COLBERT: Let's get to something that he’s been talking about—
CHARLAMAGNE: Okay.
COLBERT: — a lot of people been talking about, is that the idea of toning down the rhetoric and I'm not trying to tone down your rhetoric but what you said made me think of it, is that you have described yourself as the ruler of rubbing people the wrong way. You speak frankly on any issue. How can you speak frankly to the state of politics in America and the United States without risking inflaming someone?
CHARLAMAGNE: I think that we can, you know, condemn political violence in this country. None of us agree with what happened, you know, to Donald Trump this past Saturday. Like, none of us want to see that and if you are a person that feels like "oh, you know, that was a good thing," then I would do a quick social experiment. Ask yourself if that was somebody that you supported politically, would you want that to happen to them, right?
So, it's simple. You can condemn political violence in this country. You can condemn what happened to Donald Trump on Saturday, but you have to be honest and say that the rhetoric that Donald Trump has been spewing since 2016 has been creating an environment of political violence that's not even safe for him, and, you know, he's been cavalier about a lot of the political violence that has been happening in this country, and, you know, it's easy to be cavalier about it when it's happening to the other side, but when it starts happening to you, then what?
So, I have been very disappointed in the media this week because I knew this was going to happen. I knew people were going to stop talking about, you know, the things that the Supreme Court was doing. I knew they were going to stop saying Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. I knew they were going to stop talking about things like Project 2025 and I think that's doing a disservice to the American people by doing that because we're all adults. We're big boys and big girls. I think we can have, you know, two conversations at once.
And when you saw— when I see House Speaker Mike Johnson say things like, what did he say about Trump? He said that, oh yeah, he said, "We have to tamper down on the rhetoric. Everyone has to tamper down on the rhetoric."
No, one person should actually tamper down on the rhetoric, right? And then you see his now running mate, JD Vance, you know, he said it was the Democrats dangerous rhetoric that caused something like that to happen. Really? JD Vance, you said he was Hitler. Nikki Haley said he was an agent of chaos. So, it wasn't just Democrats, you know, speaking the truth to the matter. It's okay, I think, you know, to tell the truth in this country.
