It turns out that 2020 Democratic debate moderator Chuck Todd is even annoying fellow leftist Stephen Colbert. In a live show, The Late Show host, as well as guest Chris Christie, mercilessly mocked Todd for his pomposity. Christie berated the journalist as a “complete ass.”
Colbert kept making fun of Todd throughout his opening monologue: “Half way through, there was a personnel switch with Rachel Maddow playing the part of Lester Holt and Chuck Todd playing the part of a guy who really likes the sound of his own voice.”
Deriding Todd’s tendency over the last two nights to try and limit how much the candidates speak, Colbert imitated, “Please don't talk too much, okay? You're not Chuck Todd, I am! Zip it! Zip it!” (The host even wore a fake Todd goatee to make the point.)
But it was guest Christie who offered the most damming critique.
The Republican slammed, “And please, God, can we say goodbye to Chuck Todd?... I mean, the most pretentious know-it-all on network TV. The guy is just a complete ass.”
Perhaps not wanting to go too hard on his fellow liberal, Colbert tried to downplay the mocking. Christie wasn’t having it.
COLBERT: Chuck, I thought you did a great job.
CHRISTIE: Chuck, did you watch the monologue? He killed you. And Chuck's lucky that all he did was put the beard on and not the hair because that would have been even a bigger problem. You were all thinking it!
A partial transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more.
Late Show With Stephen Colbert
6/28/19
11:46 PM ETCOLBERT: Half way through, there was a personnel switch with Rachel Maddow playing the part of Lester Holt and Chuck Todd playing the part of a guy who really likes the sound of his own voice.
11:51 PM ET
COLBERT: Chuck Todd tried to do one of his never successful, just-one-word questions. But he got pretty upset when people tried to actually give a substantial answer.
...
COLBERT: And please don't talk too much, okay? You're not Chuck Todd, I am! Zip it! Zip it!
12:11AM
CHRIS CHRISTIE: And please, God, can we say goodbye to Chuck Todd?
COLBERT: Wow. Wow.
CHRISTIE: I mean, the most pretentious know-it-all on network TV. The guy is just a complete ass.
COLBERT: Chuck, I thought you did a great job.
CHRISTIE: Chuck, did you watch the monologue? He killed you. And Chuck's lucky that all he did was put the beard on and not the hair because that would have been even a bigger problem. You were all thinking it!
COLBERT: We gotta go.
CHRISTIE: You see the Chuck Todd hair and it goes like this? You’re like, “What’s he doing that for?” Just comb it back! Give in!
COLBERT: No, he’s going for the Julius Caesar.
CHRISTIE: It’s over.
