Savage Love podcast host and syndicated columnist Dan Savage isn’t afraid to bring out the best and worst in people — be it Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera or former Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert. And with the ongoing public and political battles faced by the LGBT community‘s many facets, the famously outspoken Savage probably won’t be keeping mum anytime soon. However, as evidenced by his Monday night appearance on Colbert’s Late Show, that doesn’t mean he’s always down for a fight. Sometimes forgiveness is the best policy.
Such was the turn Savage and Colbert’s conversation took when the latter brought up the presidential election. Specifically, the comedian wanted to know his guest’s thoughts on Donald Trump. Unsurprisingly, Savage isn’t a fan:
“It’s complicated because I think Trump is a dangerous demagogue and a racist, and will be bad for queer people if he gets elected. He’ll be bad for all Americans if he gets elected… He has not really emphasized marriage equality or discriminating against LGBT people. He actually said that he opposed laws criminalizing trans people using the bathrooms that are appropriate for them to use. It’s kind of a mixed bag, though he’s surrounded himself with homophobes… He’s promised to put people on the Supreme Court who will overturn marriage equality.”
For anyone keeping score, Trump’s constant back-and-forth on marriage equality and similar issues shouldn’t come as a surprise. Hence Savage’s reluctance to “trust” the New York real estate mogul and his presidential campaign. However, when Colbert brought up whether or not he (and the LGBT community at large) could trust Hillary Clinton, Savage was far more open. This might be surprising to some because the former Secretary of State hasn’t always had the best track record on all things gay marriage.
Savage’s rebuttal to Colbert’s point about the leading Democratic presidential candidate’s voting record was telling:
“She wasn’t always good on gay marriage, but neither was Barack Obama. When you go to somebody, go to a politician and you say, ‘Please change your mind!’ When they change their mind, you don’t then spend the rest of their lives going, ‘F*ck you for not changing your mind sooner!’ You say, ‘Welcome to the right side of this issue! We’re glad to have you.'”
The explanation was met with a chorus of cheers from the audience, as it should be. If only the rest of the American voting public (let alone the people they’re voting for) could be so forgiving.
Aside from the election, Savage and Colbert also talked about a range of related topics, including the legal battle in North Carolina and China’s recent ban on suggestive banana-eating videos.
