CBS’s Stephen Colbert turned The Late Show into The Democratic Strategy Show on Thursday as he welcomed Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly to the program to promote his new children’s book and Kamala Harris 2024.
Colbert lobbed an open-ended softball Kelly’s way when he asked, “You’re a battleground state. Arizona is very close. Joe Biden won by, like, 10,000 votes four years ago or almost four years ago. Now, FiveThirtyEight has it, basically, a dead heat between Trump and Harris. What do you think could make the difference? What is it that people of Arizona would like to hear?”
Kelly began by claiming Arizonans are mostly concerned with abortion, “Well, a lot of issues in Arizona. What happened with Roe v. Wade. Specifically, that one issue has forced women in Arizona to bounce back and forth between, like, one really bad abortion ban and another, and it's been really tough. That issue is going to be on the ballot. So, people have an opportunity to vote on this.”
He then blamed Donald Trump for the border crisis, “We've had times when it's been a crisis at the border and we finally came together, Democrats and Republicans working across the aisle, the way the Senate and Congress is supposed to work, and we had an agreement, and it's really unfortunate that the former president, Donald Trump, told Republicans in the Senate that they weren't allowed to vote for this and the reason is he realizes that he needed this for the election, so he doesn't actually want to solve this problem.”
Next, Colbert turned to the specific issue of gun control, “another issue that has been brought to the fore tragically recently gun reform is important to you as a lawmaker, but obviously to you in a deeply personal way. There’s another tragedy yesterday in Georgia. One reaction to that, which is perfectly natural, is grief and rage, and another one is to shut down because there is so much of it. What would you say to people out there who just don't want to think about this anymore?”
After recalling the moment when he was informed his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, was shot, Kelly declared, “In states that have stronger gun laws, there are less people that get shot and killed, and there are common sense solutions that most Americans support that could really, really help.”
However, Kelly didn’t attribute resistance to gun control to sincerely held Constitutional beliefs, but rather, “The problem is this has gotten really politicized over the years and money from the gun lobby that's put into our elections, but we know what to do. That's the good part, so I would recommend people don't shut down and when you're deciding upon who you're going to vote for in an election, you should make a decision based on issues, and if this is an issue you want fixed and we can fix it, hold your elected people, your elected leaders accountable. So, please do that.”
After a commercial break, Colbert mentioned that Kelly is a retired naval aviator who flew 39 combat missions before asking, “How do you feel or what is your reaction when you see the former president, who avoided the draft through bone spurs, disrespecting in a myriad ways the men and women who have served, sacrificed, and many of whom have died for our country?”
Kelly responded in part:
I mean, we, people go into the military for different reasons, but most of us go there because there is something more important than ourselves. The safety of our fellow citizens, our country, you know, service, patriotism, and I don't think the former president gets that, but I know who does get that, and that's Kamala Harris. I've talked to her about service. I've talked to her about the military. So, we've just got to make sure that Donald Trump should not be commander-in chief again. That is very clear to me.
Instead of putting the ball on the tee for the Democratic senator, Colbert should have asked about vice presidential nominee Tim Walz’s military embellishments.
Here are transcripts for the September 5-taped show:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
9/6/2024
12:18 AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: You’re a battleground state. Arizona is very close. Joe Biden won by, like, 10,000 votes--
MARK KELLY: Right.
COLBERT: -- four years ago or almost four years ago. Now, FiveThirtyEight has it, basically, a dead heat between Trump and Harris. What do you think could make the difference? What is it that people of Arizona would like to hear?
KELLY: Well, a lot of issues in Arizona. What happened with Roe v. Wade. Specifically, that one issue has forced women in Arizona to bounce back and forth between, like, one really bad abortion ban and another, and it's been really tough. That issue is going to be on the ballot. So, people have an opportunity to vote on this.
COLBERT: There's actually a resolution.
KELLY: There’s a resolution. So, I would say that issue, in this election, looms pretty large. The other issue is the border. We’re a border state. Border security is very important to me, it's important to Arizona and Donald Trump is the guy who killed a bipartisan border deal and we've had times when it's been a crisis at the border and we finally came together, Democrats and Republicans working across the aisle, the way the Senate and Congress is supposed to work, and we had an agreement, and it's really unfortunate that the former president, Donald Trump, told Republicans in the Senate that they weren't allowed to vote for this and the reason is he realizes that he needed this for the election, so he doesn't actually want to solve this problem.
He just wants to talk about the problem or take a picture of the border which is what we've seen from him and we've seen this from JD Vance. So, that's very disappointing but that issue is going to be part of the election in Arizona and statewide elections in Arizona are very close so we are going to work really hard to make sure Kamala Harris and Tim Walz win in Arizona and win the election.
COLBERT: Another issue—another issue that has been brought to the fore tragically recently gun reform is important to you as a lawmaker, but obviously to you in a deeply personal way. There’s another tragedy yesterday in Georgia. One reaction to that, which is perfectly natural, is grief and rage, and another one is to shut down because there is so much of it. What would you say to people out there who just don't want to think about this anymore?
KELLY: Well, what you said is true. For me, this is really personal. There are parents and family members in Georgia yesterday that got the call that I got. That, in my case, that Gabby, my wife, Gabby Giffords, was shot and then a call a little bit later that she was shot in the head. There are people that lost their loved ones yesterday and it's tragic that today we live in this country that has the highest rate of gun violence, especially gun violence against children, and it makes us stand out as a country, like in the worst of ways and the really sad thing about this is we know what to do about it.
In states that have stronger gun laws, there are less people that get shot and killed, and there are common sense solutions that most Americans support that could really, really help.
The problem is this has gotten really politicized over the years and money from the gun lobby that's put into our elections, but we know what to do. That's the good part, so I would recommend people don't shut down and when you're deciding upon who you're going to vote for in an election, you should make a decision based on issues, and if this is an issue you want fixed and we can fix it, hold your elected people, your elected leaders accountable. So, please do that.
…
COLBERT: Hey, everybody, it’s the author of the new children's book Mousetronaut Saves The World. You served the country for 25 years in the Navy and did 39 combat missions. How do you feel or what is your reaction when you see the former president, who avoided the draft through bone spurs, disrespecting in a myriad ways the men and women who have served, sacrificed, and many of whom have died for our country?
KELLY: Yeah, it's troubling. I've watched Donald Trump over his four years as president, as commander-in-chief. The things he has said about veterans who – service members who have paid the ultimate price, World War I veterans who are buried in the cemetery, calling them suckers and losers and then what happened at Arlington in the last week. I mean, he's a guy, this is my view on this. He puts everybody into one of two categories. You're either the con man or you're the person getting conned and he feels people were somehow tricked into serving the military.
When I was flying over Iraq in the first Gulf War and I had a missile blow up next to my airplane on my first combat mission, not for one second did I feel like I was tricked into serving in the military. I mean, we, people go into the military for different reasons, but most of us go there because there is something more important than ourselves.
The safety of our fellow citizens, our country, you know, service, patriotism, and I don't think the former president gets that, but I know who does get that, and that's Kamala Harris. I've talked to her about service. I've talked to her about the military. So, we've just got to make sure that Donald Trump should not be commander-in chief again. That is very clear to me.
