Late-night hosts also discuss supreme court justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement and Biden’s insult of Fox correspondent Peter Doocy
Stephen Colbert
On Thursday’s Late Show, Stephen Colbert weighed in on sky-high tensions over Russia’s massing of troops on the border with Ukraine. “So the world’s two greatest nuclear powers are toe-to-toe in a high-stakes staring contest, but not everyone is pulling for our guy,” he said, citing a new poll which found 62% of Republicans think Putin is a “stronger leader” than Biden.
“What is wrong with you? Stop rooting for the other team!” he marveled. “Haven’t you seen Rocky IV, From Russia With Love, Air Force One, Rambo First Blood Part II, Golden Eye, The Hunt for Red October? Come on.“ I’m not sure what the Republican criterion for toughness is. It is true that Biden hasn’t murdered anyone with a cup of tea laced with polonium, a noose, point-blank shootings or by chucking them out of windows,” he continued, citing several examples of the Kremlin killing dissidents. “The only way Joe’s gonna kill you is by repeatedly telling the same story.”
Nevertheless, Republicans are “crushing hard” on Putin, Colbert concluded, pointing to a clip from Fox & Friends in which host Brian Kilmeade said, based on a poll in which six out of 10 Americans thought Biden was likable, “give us a strong leader who’s a little less likable”.
“Republican daddy issues are going to kill us all,” Colbert mused.