If you’re an independent, moderate or a Republican, don’t go looking to Stephen Colbert for comedy. The live edition of The Late Show on Tuesday night showed, yet again, that he’s mostly speaking to his Democratic base. If you were expecting jokes on high gas prices, there weren’t any. If you were expecting a mocking of Biden for skyrocketing inflation, there was one lame mention that amounted to six seconds.
Instead, we got “jokes” like this one: “We are live after Joe Biden's first official State of the Union address. And let me tell you: It was a roller-coaster ride of rip-roaring reasonableness.” It’s hard to be funny when your jokes amount to “Why are you so great, Mr. President?”
Instead of making fun of Biden, Colbert went after the guy who is not president:
Keep in mind, a week ago, this was going to be a totally different speech. But when Ukraine was invaded, the whole world changed. Because right now, there is a dictator who thinks he can violently conquer a sovereign democracy. But Joe Biden beat him in the last election.
At the end of this DNC-friendly monologue, Colbert cheered, “It was a powerful speech at a moment of global crisis and Biden brought it home with a rousing call to national greatness.”
The one, rather lame, reference to the very difficult time the country is enduring came after Colbert showed a clip of 13-year-old Joshua Davis, one of Biden’s guests. The Late Show host joked about it being Davis’s birthday: “It’s his 13th birthday. The poor kid got stuck with the worst bar mitzvah theme of all time: Rampant inflation.” Not exactly a grilling of Biden.
The sole guest for the post-State of the Union live show? Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders for a whopping 14 minutes and 17 seconds. Colbert gushed over Sanders, pointing out that Biden has come to him in terms of policy:
Let's get to economics. Tonight, President Biden laid out his economic plan. It included cutting the cost of prescription drugs. Cutting the cost of child care. Making corporations pay their fair share. Is it-- is it fair to say that Biden was feeling the Bern tonight? You're an expert. You're an expert on the Bern?
Colbert’s big concern? Democrats not going along with Biden. Here's some of his questions to Sanders:
COLBERT: Biden kept looking to the Republicans while promoting his legislative agenda. He could pass much of that agenda with only Democratic support. Should he have been looking at Manchin and Sinema?
...
COLBERT: Now, Biden tonight, in the State of the Union, he praised Ketanji Brown Jackson. There are, you know, 50 Democratic senators, Kamala Harris is the 51st vote. Do you think she will go through? Or will some of the senators go, “I don't know. Am I really a Democrat?”
DNC TV at its worst. But this is the same Colbert who has abandoned comedy to endorse the “decent” and “honest” Biden.
The non-comedy on Colbert was sponsored by Allstate. Click on the link to let them know what you think.
A partial transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more.
Late Show With Stephen Colbert
3/2/2022
11:38
STEPHEN COLBERT: As you can see right there, that means legally we are live after Joe Biden's first official State of the Union address. And let me tell you: It was a roller-coaster ride of rip-roaring reasonableness. Keep in mind, a week ago, this was going to be a totally different speech. But when Ukraine was invaded, the whole world changed. Because right now, there is a dictator who thinks he can violently conquer a sovereign democracy. But Joe Biden beat him in the last election.
...
JOE BIDEN: The state of the union is strong because you, the American people, are strong. We are stronger today. We are stronger today than we were a year ago.
COLBERT: That's true, but that's a pretty low bar. A year ago, we weren't wearing pants and our asses had merged with our couches. But all in all, in the end, it was a powerful speech at a moment of global crisis and Biden brought it home with a rousing call to national greatness.
...
COLBERT: Ladies and gentlemen, my guest tonight is a Senator and progressive leader who has spent over 40 years in politics. Please welcome back to The Late Show, Senator Bernie Sanders.
...
COLBERT: Let's get to economics. Tonight, President Biden laid out his economic plan. It included cutting the cost of prescription drugs. Cutting the cost of child care. Making corporations pay their fair share. Is it-- is it fair to say that Biden was feeling the Bern tonight? You're an expert. You're an expert on the Bern?
...
COLBERT: Biden kept looking to the Republicans while promoting his legislative agenda. He could pass much of that agenda with only Democratic support. Should he have been looking at Manchin and Sinema.
COLBERT: Now, Biden tonight, in the State of the Union, he praised Ketanji Brown Jackson. There are, you know, 50 Democratic senators, Kamala Harris is the 51st vote. Do you think she will go through, or will some of the senators go, “I don't know. Am I really a Democrat?”
