The main topic of discussion was the special election in New York to replace George Santos. The race is between Republican Mazy Pilip and Democrat Tom Swazi. The stakes are high, as the GOP needs all the votes they can get to push forward their agenda.
Mazy Pilip, the Republican candidate, has an unusual resume. She is a local legislator and a registered Democrat. The audience couldn’t help but find this intriguing and Stephen Colbert even joked about her fighting with herself and sneaking away to get high in the garage.
The election is seen as a bellwether for the upcoming presidential election, with many Republicans supporting Pilip because they believe she is tougher on crime. One Republican voter even stated that they don’t care about democracy, but rather about crime. Stephen Colbert humorously suggested that he had found Donald Trump‘s new VP candidate.
Democrats have also shown strong support in this election, with many voting early. Republicans needed a big turnout on the election day, so they came up with an interesting plan. If voters couldn’t get to the polls because of the snow, they had monster trucks ready to pick them up and transport them. Stephen Colbert jokingly promoted this as “Special Election Monster Jam” featuring prominent figures like Governor Kathy Horus.
Switching gears, the CDC announced changes to their COVID-19 isolation guidelines. People are now able to go back to their normal lives if they have been fever-free for 24 hours without medication and if their symptoms are mild and improving. Stephen Colbert added a humorous touch by explaining that as long as someone was worse yesterday than they are today, it’s fine to be around them.
In other news, Ronna McDaniel is reportedly stepping down as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Donald Trump is considering replacing her with North Carolina GOP chair Michael Wat. However, the most interesting aspect is Trump’s choice for co-chair – his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump. This decision has sparked controversy and accusations of corruption. Stephen Colbert couldn’t help but make jokes about a potential future Trump administration, with Jared as Chief of Staff, Ivanka as ambassador to the UN, and Don Jr. as head of the DEA.
The episode also featured John Bolton, former National Security adviser, who predicted that NATO would be in jeopardy if Trump were re-elected. Stephen Colbert amusingly commented that Trump wouldn’t do it to their face but would send NATO a breakup pizza.
To round off the show, Stephen Colbert discussed the Super Bowl ratings, Ash Wednesday falling on Valentine’s Day, and the update to Sweethearts’ famous conversation heart candies. The new candies include messages for people in “situationships,” with blurry text to match the unclear nature of these relationships.
Overall, it was an entertaining and lively episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, full of humor and insightful commentary on current events.
