Stephen Colbert was nicely into his farewell media tour when he advised GQ, “I feel I am extra conservative than folks suppose.” Nonetheless, in line with an aggregation of earlier NewsBusters research and quote packages, that’s removed from true. Since NewsBusters started counting jokes in January 2023, 87 % of Colbert’s political jokes have focused conservatives. Likewise, since September 2022, greater than 99 % of his political friends have been liberals.
MRC President David Bozell mentioned in a press release, “Good riddance to Colbert’s nightly group remedy session for progressive elitists who couldn’t perceive why half the nation stored rejecting their worldview.”
Jokes
Over the span of the ultimate 458 Late Present episodes on CBS since January of 2023, NewsBusters logged 8,553 political jokes. Of those, Colbert advised 7,480 (87 %) about conservatives, 934 (11 %) about liberals, and 139 (2 %) about nonpartisan folks or organizations.
Colbert’s high ten most joked about folks included just one Democrat. The highest ten have been Donald Trump (3,640), Joe Biden (339), George Santos (269), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a Republican (208), Republicans (180), JD Vance (151), Pete Hegseth (146), Elon Musk (143), Kristi Noem (106), and Rudy Giuliani (104).
NewsBusters analysts began figuring out RFK Jr. as a Republican in 2024 after he endorsed Trump and was chosen to be secretary of Well being and Human Providers.
After,Joe Biden, former New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams and 2024 vice presidential nominee Tim Walz have been the following Democrats on the checklist in a tie for twenty fourth place with former Vice President Mike Pence at 40 whole jokes. Former Vice President Kamala Harris tied for forty first place with 21 whole jokes.
It was not simply present and former presidents and vice presidents. There are additionally broad discrepancies in how Colbert joked about different analogous liberal and conservative targets.
- Republicans (180) vs. Democrats (31)
- Conservatives (30) vs. Liberals (8)
- Fox Information (73) and Newsmax (2) vs. CNN (4) and MSNBC/MS NOW (1)
- Mike Johnson (87) and Kevin McCarthy (76) vs. Nancy Pelosi (6) and Hakeem Jeffries (3)
- Melania Trump (100) vs. Jill Biden (2)
- Eric Trump (84) and Donald Trump Jr. (56) vs. Hunter Biden (4)
- Clarence Thomas (30), Samuel Alito (29), the Supreme Courtroom’s conservative bloc (7), Brett Kavanaugh (5), John Roberts (1), Neil Gorsuch (1), Amy Coney Barrett (1) vs. Elena Kagan (1), Sonia Sotomayor (0), and Ketanji Brown Jackson (0), and the Supreme Courtroom’s liberal bloc (0).
Then there’s the perspective. Colbert’s jokes about Republicans tended to be harsher than his ones about Democrats corresponding to when he celebrated Trump being indicted, “Right here in New York it was 40 levels, however I nonetheless ate ice cream out of a baseball helmet. Why? Oh, just a bit one thing value celebrating in the present day as a result of actually three minutes earlier than I walked out on this stage right here, the New York Instances reported a New York grand jury voted to indict former President Donald J. Trump. Oh! Oh! Come on! Come on! Thanks! Women and gents! It’s proper, he was– girls and gents, he was proper, we’re lastly saying Merry Christmas once more.”
He may additionally throw round a Nazi analogy as simply as any MS NOW host, “Sure, don’t evaluate ICE or Border Patrol brokers to the Nazis. That’s an unfair comparability. The Nazis have been prepared to indicate their faces.”
Colbert by no means celebrated any Democratic arrests by consuming ice cream out of a baseball helmet or ever in contrast a Biden coverage to the Nazis.
Company
Over the 511 Late Present episodes NewsBusters monitored for its visitor depend research since November 2022, Colbert invited each essentially the most and the best proportion of liberal friends in comparison with different hosts. The ultimate depend got here in at 263 liberals and one conservative, or greater than 99 %.
NewsBusters analysts categorized a visitor as liberal or conservative based mostly off of what they advised Colbert, their most up-to-date job, or latest voting historical past, not essentially how they self-identify. Due to this fact, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s 4 appearances and former Sen. Jeff Flake’s one look are counted as liberal appearances regardless of them being Republicans after they have been in Congress. Nonetheless, former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney nonetheless managed to make broadly conservative factors in her December 2023 look, so she is listed because the lone Republican on this examine, even when most conservatives wouldn’t need to declare her.
A political visitor was outlined as any present or former elected politician, administration official, journalist, activist, or movie star who talked about politics.
Colbert had so many liberal friends since November 2022 that he fashioned a high ten most typical visitor checklist as nicely. That checklist featured John Oliver (10), John Dickerson (8), Anderson Cooper (8), Elizabeth Warren (6), Bernie Sanders (5), Pete Buttigieg (5), Jon Stewart (5), Adam Kinzinger (4), Jen Psaki (4), Rachel Maddow (4), Chris Hayes, and Seth Meyers (4).
In whole, Colbert had 50 political friends seem a minimum of twice, and 20 seem a minimum of 3 times.
Democrats liked showing with Colbert as a result of it was a change for them to speak instantly with different liberals and assist them get out the vote. For example, Harris dropped by throughout the 2024 election to share a beer with Colbert, who gushed, “So, cheers, there you go. Ooh. Tastes like the gorgeous metropolis of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”
A month later, he urged Walz to present viewers a pep discuss, “So, let’s carry it in, coach, for one ultimate pep discuss to the voters on the market perhaps haven’t made up their thoughts and in the event you can provide that pep discuss utilizing as many of those sports activities clichés as attainable, that may be nice.”
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Colbert’s followers lamented his downfall by claiming he was a person who spoke reality to energy. They cited his battles with Trump, and earlier than that, with George W. Bush. As completely different as the 2 presidents may be, the one factor they’ve in widespread is that they’re each Republicans, and no person ever praised Colbert for talking reality to energy when it got here to Barack Obama or Joe Biden.
