Stephen Colbert found this part of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s RNC speech “absolutely terrifying”

July 16, 2024

Stephen Colbert began his show on Monday with a forceful condemnation of “violence and violent rhetoric” in the wake of the attempted assassination of President Trump before delivering a humorous segment on a particularly “chilling” statement made by Marjorie Taylor Greene at the Republican National Convention on Monday night.

The Georgia congresswoman was one of many speakers at the RNC in Milwaukee on Monday and used anti-LBGTQ+ rhetoric during her speech, insisting at one point that there are “only two genders.”

On his show, Colbert also highlighted another “absolutely appalling” comment she made on stage, showing a clip of her saying Donald Trump is “the leader America deserves.”

“Why?” cried Colbert. “Did we run over a witch’s cat? Did someone make a wish with a cursed chicken foot?”

Taylor Greene’s appearance at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee came a day after she came under fire for several wild claims made on her X-account following the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in rural Pennsylvania on Saturday night.

“The Democrats are the party of pedophiles, the murder of innocent unborn children, violence and bloody, senseless, endless wars,” she wrote on Sunday on X.

Stephen Colbert made fun of Trump for choosing JD Vance as his vice president (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

“They want to lock up their political opponents and terrorize innocent Americans who would tell the truth. The Democratic Party is simply evil, and yesterday they tried to assassinate President Trump.”

Even as Taylor Greene continues to make baseless accusations against the Democratic Party, many politicians feel emboldened to tone down their political rhetoric.

However, a person involved in planning the Republican convention told ABC that the convention would not simply take place after the shooting – it would go on “with a vengeance.”

“No! No! We’re toning down the rhetoric! Remember? I don’t want to continue anything with all my might. I want to finish everything with a bong hit, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and reruns of Gilmore Girls”, said Colbert.

Trump, who suffered an ear injury when a bullet grazed him on stage at his campaign rally on Saturday, has repeatedly called for American unity and solidarity in recent days following the shooting in which a rally participant was killed.

As lawmakers try to push for that unity, Colbert highlighted a particular moment at the RNC when the Senate Minority Leader seemed to be drowned out by a resounding chorus of boos as he read the names of Kentucky’s delegates.

“Unity,” Colbert responded to the booing. “You know, people ask me what gives me hope. I’ll tell you. Whatever our differences, all Americans despise Mitch McConnell.”

Colbert also mentioned the announcement of Trump’s 2024 vice presidential running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance – a man who was once a critic of Trump but has now secured a spot as a potential vice president alongside him.

Marjorie Taylor Greene said on Monday that there are only “two genders” at the RNC (AFP via Getty Images)

The show’s host noted that Vance once called Trump a “cultural hero” and another time compared the former president to one of the most evil dictators in history.

Vance reportedly said in a message to a friend in 2016: “I’m torn between the view that Trump could be a cynical asshole like (Richard) Nixon who wouldn’t be so bad (and might even prove useful) and the view that he could be America’s Hitler.”

Despite these comments, Colbert poked fun at Trump’s later choice of Vance: “If you just look at your resume, Mr. Smith, it says you’ve called me ‘Satan incarnate,’ Voldemort’s ugly, unstable brother, and a slightly more perverted Jared from Subway,” he joked.

“Oh, but you know Excel! Welcome aboard!” Colbert added.

While Colbert joked about Republican politicians and the convention on Monday, he also delivered a serious message in response to the shooting at the rally and condemned the violence that followed.

“My immediate reaction when I saw this on Saturday was horror at what was unfolding, relief that Donald Trump had survived and, frankly, sadness for my beautiful country,” said the Late Show said the host, adding that he was also appalled that participants had been shot and one had died.

“How many times must we learn that violence has no place in our politics, that the sole purpose of a democracy is to settle our differences – as the saying goes – with an election, not a bullet,” he said, adding that the shooter’s motives were still unclear.

“Our job as American citizens is to reject violence and violent rhetoric in this time of crisis, no matter how much we want to fight for our ideas,” he said.