Even by his standards, CBS’s Stephen Colbert displayed a shocking display of hypocrisy during his Thursday monologue on The Late Show as he gushed over President Joe Biden’s Oval Office address and hailed Biden’s “humility and self-sacrifice” in order to save democracy. Yet, later, he urged his viewers to spread fake news on the internet about GOP VP candidate JD Vance having sex with a couch because he found the debunked story funny.
Colbert led off the show by teeing up a clip of Biden’s address, “It's been four days since Joe Biden's historic announcement that he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, and last night, in what was to me a very moving Oval Office address, Biden explained his choice to the American people.”
The clip showed Biden declaring that “I revere this office, but I love my country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title.”
Colbert replied by oozing, “That humility and self-sacrifice is so beautiful and truly patriotic. And a refreshing change from the last guy.”
Later in his monologue, Colbert approached the issue of the AP fact-checking the internet rumor that Vance admitted in his book to having sex with a couch and the AP pulling the article. Citing a Mediaite article, Colbert acknowledged the story is bunk, “Reportedly, a PDF search of Vance's book yielded ten references to ‘couch’ or ‘couches,’ but ‘at no time is the furniture engaged in coitus.’”
However, Colbert’s desire for truth in politics only goes one way. If the truth gets in the way of a good troll, the truth should take a back seat:
Of course not! Of course not! JD Vance is a very religious conservative. He knows it's Adam and Eve, not Raymour and Flannigan. This just shows how big a problem misinformation can be. Even a well-meaning fact check can wind up amplifying a false story. So, all of us, all of us, please, have a responsibility to stop the spread of vicious rumors like JD Vance had sex with a couch. Because it's simply not true. Which is why we have to refuse to use the hashtag #CushionPushinJDVance. And that's why I certainly won't ever perform the juvenile chant, 'JD Vance is sittin' on a couch. His pee-pee hit the zipper and ouch!'
Colbert concluded, “This is—here's the thing. There is one troubling twist to this story, because as of this morning, the AP had removed their fact check, which can only mean one of two things. Either the original story does not meet the AP’s rigorous standards or JD Vance had sex with a couch.”
A similar fact-check from Snopes remains up.
Here is a transcript for the July 25 show:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
7/25/2024
11:37 PM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: It's been four days since Joe Biden's historic announcement that he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, and last night, in what was to me a very moving Oval Office address, Biden explained his choice to the American people.
JOE BIDEN: I revere this office, but I love my country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title.
COLBERT: That humility and self-sacrifice is so beautiful and truly patriotic. And a refreshing change from the last guy.
..
COLBERT The sofa-schtupping allegations get disturbingly specific. See, according to one tweet, in his book, JD Vance described having sex with a rubber glove secured between cushions on his couch. Where does someone even get an idea like that? I blame those filthy IKEA instructions. Flurgleboerg. Flurgleboerg.
Reportedly, a PDF search of Vance's book yielded ten references to "couch" or "couches," but "at no time is the furniture engaged in coitus."
Of course not! Of course not! JD Vance is a very religious conservative. He knows it's Adam and Eve, not Raymour and Flannigan. This just shows how big a problem misinformation can be. Even a well-meaning fact check can wind up amplifying a false story. So, all of us, all of us, please, have a responsibility to stop the spread of vicious rumors like JD Vance had sex with a couch. Because it's simply not true. Which is why we have to refuse to use the hashtag #CushionPushinJDVance. And that's why I certainly won't ever perform the juvenile chant, "JD Vance is sittin' on a couch. His pee-pee hit the zipper and ouch!"
This is—here's the thing. There is one troubling twist to this story, because as of this morning, the AP had removed their fact check, which can only mean one of two things. Either the original story does not meet the AP’s rigorous standards or JD Vance had sex with a couch.
