For the second night in a row, Stephen Colbert welcomed a Democratic member of Congress to CBS’s The Late Show. On Wednesday, it was Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s turn as Colbert pretended that Fetterman is the first question to ever be questioned about his health, gifted him a tuxedo T-shirt, and fawned over this “excellent meme game.”
Colbert asked a hoodie and shorts-clad Fetterman, “Well, I can see how being more empathetic might make you a better senator. And being public about the disability that you have is a good thing. But how does it feel to have your private health become public news?”
Fetterman is hardly the first politician whose health has led people to wonder if he is capable of performing the job. As for Fetterman’s response, he took the opportunity to take a swipe at Fox, “you sign up for that gig and that's part of it and now, you know, the better I get, the sad, you know, Fox News becomes. Because they love -- every word I missed was like candy for Fox News, you know, and now they even started thinking, some people now think there's a conspiracy that I have a body double now, you know, so.”
Later, the conversation shifted towards the Senate dress code, which led Fetterman to wonder what the big deal was, “I was really struck by, you know, ‘oh, my god, the world is going to burn because he's going to wear a hoodie on the floor,’ but, I mean, like Ukraine or shutting down the government, or, you know, all these issues. I think it's much more important to seize, you know, what will this man wear on the floor of the Senate?”
At this point, Colbert pulled out a gift for Fetterman, “Well, just in case you want to stay casual and formal at the same time, we got you a tuxedo T-shirt.”
Shifting gears, Colbert wondered, “Is it awkward to be in the Capitol and then run into people that you have put up a devastating meme about because you've got excellent meme game? But then you have to see these people in the cafeteria.”
Fetterman’s meme game or internet trolling abilities aren’t actually that great. For example, when Nate Silver defended his ability to dress however he wanted, Fetterman responded “I dress like you predict,” which would be admission he doesn't dress well.
Furthermore, the issue of the Senate dress code was emblematic of an institution in decline as a result of falling standards, yet Fetterman responded by claiming the problem with the Senate was other people, “It’s-- you all need to know that America is not sending their best and brightest, you know, to Washington, D.C.”
He accused then unnamed Republicans of caring more about getting on Fox than actual governance:
It's actually scary too and before the government almost shut down, I mean, it came down to a couple hours. I was in my office and they finally came over from the House and they're like okay, well, this has to be unanimous in the Senate and out of 99 of us, if one single one of us would've said no, the whole government would have shut down and that's how dangerous that is to put that kind of power in one's hands because you have some very less gifted kinds of people there that are willing to shut down the government just to score points on Fox.
And some people want to score points on The Late Show.
Here is a transcript for the October 11-taped show:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
10/12/2023
12:06 AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: Well, I can see how being more empathetic might make you a better senator. And being public about the disability that you have is a good thing. But how does it feel to have your private health become public news?
JOHN FETTERMAN: It’s—that’s--- you sign up for that gig and that's part of it and now, you know, the better I get, the sad, you know, Fox News becomes. Because they love -- every word I missed was like candy for Fox News, you know, and now they even started thinking, some people now think there's a conspiracy that I have a body double now, you know, so.
…
12:10
COLBERT: Yes. Yes, we’ve heard about the dress code. Here you are, you’re the star of it, “Senate dishes dress code as Fetterman and others choose casual clothes.” Yes.
FETTERMAN: And I swear, it’s assumed it was about-- for me and, of course, I don’t know why, I mean the way I dress, but I never asked for it, you know, and when I knew this was going to be announced, I was like “oh boy, here it comes.”
But, I was really struck by, you know, “oh, my god, the world is going to burn because he's going to wear a hoodie on the floor,” but, I mean, like Ukraine or shutting down the government, or, you know, all these issues. I think it's much more important to seize, you know, what will this man wear on the floor of the Senate?
COLBERT: Well, just in case you want to stay casual and formal at the same time, we got you a tuxedo T-shirt. There you go, in case. Thank you very much. Thank you. So, exactly.
FETTERMAN: I’m very grateful.
COLBERT: It only comes in large so it might look like a onesie on you. Is it awkward to be in the Capitol and then run into people that you have put up a devastating meme about because you've got excellent meme game? But then you have to see these people in the cafeteria.
FETTERMAN: It’s-- you all need to know that America is not sending their best and brightest, you know, to Washington, D.C.
Like, sometimes you literally just can't believe, like, you know, these people are making the decisions that are, you know, determining the government here. It's actually scary too and before the government almost shut down, I mean, it came down to a couple hours. I was in my office and they finally came over from the House and they're like okay, well, this has to be unanimous in the Senate and out of 99 of us, if one single one of us would've said no, the whole government would have shut down and that's how dangerous that is to put that kind of power in one's hands because you have some very less gifted kinds of people there that are willing to shut down the government just to score points on Fox.
