CBS’s Stephen Colbert wrapped up his week of live reactions to the Republican National Convention early Friday morning by decrying the whole thing as “deeply, psychotically weird” because the party is trying to dismiss Donald Trump’s legal controversies as no big deal. Colbert would also welcome Sen. Bernie Sanders to The Late Show to claim that Trump is a threat to democracy because Elon Musk plans to give a Trump super PAC a lot of money and because Trump wants to drill for oil.
During his opening monologue, Colbert lamented, “But the thing is none of this is normal. It's deeply, psychotically weird that this is happening at all. Less than four years ago, this man incited an attack on the U.S. Capitol in order to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation's history. Then he was impeached again.”
Rolling right along, Colbert continued, “Then he was indicted a lot. Then found liable for sexual assault and convicted of 34 felonies. And the Republicans are desperate for voters to forget all of that. Also, he's not currently the president, so it's weird that he spoke in front of a Zoom background of the White House.”
If Republicans are not receptive to liberal concerns about the end of democracy, perhaps it is because the boy has cried wolf because later in the show, Colbert asked Sanders:
Speaking of which, Elon Musk, your buddy Elon, said he would not be giving money to either candidate back in March but last week he said is going to give $45 million a month to a Trump Super PAC between now and the election, $180 million. If you would do whatever billionaires tell you, that money could be yours, Bernie. Have you thought about it?
Sanders retorted, “Stephen, I haven't, but thanks for telling me. I'll take that into consideration, all right. But you raise a really important question. In a sense we should thank Musk for making this issue so obvious. What we have in America now is a corrupt political system. That’s it. We do not really live in a democracy. We live in a semi-democracy. You have the right to vote, but a billionaire out there has the right to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to further his or her aims.
For Sanders, oil drilling also represents a threat to democracy, “And what Musk has done and other billionaires are doing, falling into line behind Trump because they know they're going to give massive tax breaks if you're in the fossil fuel industry, you're going to ‘drill, baby, drill.’”
Hyping President Joe Biden instead, Sanders added, “But there are billionaires who also support Biden. But to Biden's credit, Biden understands that we have to overturn this disastrous Supreme Court decision on Citizens United.”
If Colbert wants people to take his Doomsday prophecies about the end of democracy seriously, perhaps equating democracy’s demise with fossil fuels isn’t the best idea.
Here is a transcript for the July 19 show:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
7/19/2024
12:52 AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: But the thing is none of this is normal. It's deeply, psychotically weird that this is happening at all. Less than four years ago, this man incited an attack on the U.S. Capitol in order to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation's history. Then he was impeached again. Then he was indicted a lot. Then found liable for sexual assault and convicted of 34 felonies. And the Republicans are desperate for voters to forget all of that. Also, he's not currently the president, so it's weird that he spoke in front of a Zoom background of the White House.
…
COLBERT: Speaking of which, Elon Musk, your buddy Elon, said he would not be giving money to either candidate back in March but last week he said is going to give $45 million a month to a Trump Super PAC between now and the election, $180 million. If you would do whatever billionaires tell you, that money could be yours, Bernie. Have you thought about it?
BERNIE SANDERS: Stephen, I haven't, but thanks for telling me. I'll take that into consideration, all right. But you raise a really important question. In a sense we should thank Musk for making this issue so obvious. What we have in America now is a corrupt political system. That’s it. We do not really live in a democracy. We live in a semi-democracy. You have the right to vote, but a billionaire out there has the right to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to further his or her aims.
And what Musk has done and other billionaires are doing, falling into line behind Trump because they know they're going to give massive tax breaks if you're in the fossil fuel industry, you're going to “drill, baby, drill.” This is a good reason to support Trump.
But there are billionaires who also support Biden. But to Biden's credit, Biden understands that we have to overturn this disastrous Supreme Court decision on Citizens United.
