Stephen Colbert had an amusing existential crisis on Wednesday’s episode of “The Late Show,” when he explained who the new speaker of the House is and then, after calling him “another boring white guy with glasses,” realized that also describes himself.
For a quick catch-up, after three weeks, the Republicans in Congress finally settled on a new speaker of the House: Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson, a far-right religious fundamentalist who among other things is an enthusiastic election denier who actively tried to help Donald Trump overthrow the government in 2020.
But despite his participation in a failed coup, Johnson is also practically an unknown in terms of political stardom, which is where Colbert found some humor.
“His name is Mike Johnson. Mike Johnson. That is a name,” Colbert said during his monologue. “He is the most generic sounding congressional leader since the election of Speaker James Kirkland brand.”
Colbert then noted that in a departure from the last several weeks, Johnson was elected by a unanimous vote by House Republicans. “Finally, a man who appeals to all factions of the Republican Party: The MAGA faithful, the social conservatives, the white nationalists and the horny ‘Beetlejuice’ goblins,” he joked.
Obviously, that last line was a reference to Lauren Boebert, who was kicked out of a Colorado theater during a performance of “Beetlejuice” because she was vaping and engaging in brazen sexual conduct. (She also lied repeatedly about this until video proof was released to the public.)
Meanwhile, Colbert got into how unknown the new House speaker is. “Johnson is now second in line to the presidency, prompting news outlets to try and flip the claim,” he said, reading off several newspaper headlines asking variations of the question, “Who is Mike Johnson?” Which brought him to the identity crisis.
“So he’s a little innocuous. It’s just another boring white guy with glasses. Wait a second, Jimmy. Put him up again. Hold on, hold on,” Colbert exclaimed. Then, walking up to the camera, he was juxtaposed against a photo of Johnson, prompting him to ask, “am I Mike Johnson?”
Watch the whole clip above.
