Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a warning that corporations should “stay out of politics,” or they will “invite serious consequences” after after several high-profile brands (including Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, and Major League Baseball) began making moves to protest the controversial Election Integrity Act that recently passed in Georgia. The act has been accused of being a major effort by Republicans to suppress the African-American vote, and considering that McConnell is up to the hilt in corporate donations and has been a major proponent of mixing private sector cash with politics, Stephen Colbert didn’t waste an opportunity to rip McConnell for his blatant hypocrisy.
As Colbert noted by highlighting a tweet from the Public Citizen watchdog group, in the past five years alone, McConnell has taken in over $4.3 million in corporate donations to his campaign. Which is why McConnell spent Wednesday morning clarifying that by “stay out of politics,” he doesn’t mean entirely. “I’m not talking about political contributions,” McConnell told reporters, which opened the door for Colbert to go to town with his impression of the Kentucky senator.
“No, no, I’m just sayin’ shush, darlin. You’re so much prettier when you don’t talk,” Colbert mocked around the 6:00 minute mark above. “Now, spread open that wallet, baby, and give ol’ Mitch a peek at that bottom line.”
Colbert also played a 2013 clip that showed McConnell arguing that the First Amendment guarantees that American corporations have a right to participate in politics just like any citizen would. “I’d call that a self-own, but he’s already 100 percent owned by corporations,” Colbert quipped, bringing the roast to an end.