Oh, folks, you can’t make this stuff up! Stephen Colbert, the king of late-night liberal cheerleading, had quite the moment on “The Late Show” this week. He invited CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins on stage and dropped a gem that had his audience in stitches—whether he meant to or not.
In what can only be described as comedic gold, Colbert, with a straight face, claimed that CNN is “objective.” Now, if you were sipping your coffee when you heard that, you probably did a spit-take. The audience in New York sure did—they burst out laughing before Colbert could even finish his sentence! And for good reason.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we? During the Trump years, CNN wasn’t exactly known for its even-handed approach. The network practically invented a new genre of “news”—24/7 anti-Trump hysteria. Remember Jim Acosta? The guy who turned press briefings into personal wrestling matches with Trump officials? CNN was the home of “fake news,” as the former President so aptly put it. But sure, Colbert, let’s pretend they were just calmly reporting the facts.
Colbert’s guest, Kaitlan Collins, looked like she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cringe. She tried to play along, but the audience wasn’t buying it either—they knew better, and their laughter said it all.
NEW: Audience starts cracking up after a serious Stephen Colbert tells CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that CNN “just reports the news as it is.”
Remarkable.
Colbert: “I know you guys are objective over [at CNN], you just report the news as it is.”
Audience: *Laughs hysterically*… pic.twitter.com/9R8iv2UXeN
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 13, 2024
Now, let’s not forget the great “reform” that was supposed to come when Chris Licht, Colbert’s old producer, took the reins at CNN in 2022. Licht wanted to tone down the left-leaning bias that had turned CNN into a parody of itself. He made a few moves, fired some of the most blatantly partisan talking heads, and even tried to woo back Republicans who had long since tuned out.
But the Zucker-era loyalists—yes, the same ones who turned CNN into the anti-Trump brigade—weren’t having it. Licht didn’t last long, and CNN’s quest for “objectivity” went down the drain along with him.
And just to put the cherry on top, who do we see back on CNN these days? The very faces Licht tried to distance the network from—Don Lemon, Jeffrey Toobin, and Brian Stelter, all back in the mix. So much for that pivot to the center, huh?
Late night-host Stephen Colbert and CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins were caught off guard when his audience laughed at Colbert calling CNN “objective.”@EmmaRechenberg @ShaunKraisman @RepDougCollins pic.twitter.com/V872zPirpR
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) August 13, 2024
In the end, Colbert’s little joke—intentional or not—was the perfect punchline for anyone who’s been paying attention. CNN “objective“? Yeah, that’s a good one, Stephen. Keep ‘em coming.
