On Tuesday night, Stephen Colbert reminded his viewers and longtime fans that he can still be the best at tackling hot political issues and taking down politicians when he wants to. The struggling host of The Late Show fired off a series of biting insults in response to the Senate failing to pass a bill to restrict the accessibility of dangerous firearms, a vintage display of fearlessness and ballsy confidence from the former faux-pundit.
On Wednesday, he was back at it in his monologue, praising the Democrats who organized a congressional sit-in for supporting “two things 90 percent of Americans are in favor of: stopping terrorists from getting guns, and sitting down.” He also joined in the chorus of those mocking Paul Ryan and Republicans who responded to the sit-in by shutting off the cameras so no one could watch the protest. As C-Span tweeted, the network had no control over the House cameras, so anyone who was desperate to watch politicians sitting down and talking, or whatever, would simply have to visit the offices of their local elected officials.
We should expect Colbert’s political commentary to get even more biting in the coming weeks, as The Late Show will air live for two weeks during the Republican and Democratic national conventions. Colbert will remain in New York, but the show will have a “presence” at both events, so it will be interesting to see how he handles this at a time when he could certainly use his own Colbert Bump.
