When it comes to the election to be Speaker of the House, nobody is safe from the late night liberals. If you support Kevin McCarthy they relish in your failure, if you oppose Kevin McCarthy they will denounce you as an extremist, and if you’re Ronald Reagan and have been dead for nearly 20 years, CBS Late Night host Stephen Colbert will take the opportunity to suggest you are in hell.
During his monologue, Colbert teed up a montage of Fox News personalities lamenting that McCarthy has yet to secure victory with a sarcastic jab at the network, “And it's not just Republicans. It’s not just Republicans out there, independent, nonpartisan journalists like the folks at Fox News are also—also very, very upset.”
The final host in the montage was Sean Hannity, who was shown asking, “Tonight we ask the question-- oh how about this question? What would Ronald Reagan say?”
Colbert replied with a profoundly unfunny impression of Reagan, which was more of a generic old man voice, “I don't know Sean, something like, "Ah! Where am I? Everything was so dark for so long and there were these demons dancing around me chanting, ‘You should have addressed the AIDS crisis when you had a chance.’ Then I woke up, all of a sudden, mommy.’”
Besides the terrible impression, Colbert’s suggestion that Reagan is in hell for his response to AIDS is not only disgusting, it’s not even true. The same can be said for the apparent dementia “joke.”
This segment was sponsored by Progressive.
Here is a transcript for the January 4 show:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
1/4/2023
11:45 PM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: And it's not just Republicans. It’s not just Republicans out there, independent, nonpartisan journalists like the folks at Fox News are also—also very, very upset.
BRIAN KILMEADE: Just to see them vote and do the same thing over and over again and then make speeches to endorse Kevin McCarthy and have him not get-- I just thought was the craziest scenario.
AINSLEY EARHARDT: It's making Republicans look ridiculous.
SEAN HANNITY: Tonight we ask the question-- oh how about this question? What would Ronald Reagan say?
COLBERT: I don't know Sean, something like, "Ah! Where am I? Everything was so dark for so long and there were these demons dancing around me chanting, ‘You should have addressed the AIDS crisis when you had a chance.’ Then I woke up, all of a sudden, mommy.’”
