On a night where former President Bill Clinton accused Republicans of figuratively creating “a cartoon” version of his wife, Hillary Clinton, as part of their attacks on the Democratic nominee, comedian Stephen Colbert did them one better and revealed the real thing (sort of).
Hosting yet another live edition of The Late Show on CBS following the second night of the Democratic National Convention, Colbert welcomed to his show a cartoon version of Hillary Clinton (similar to the cartoon version of Donald Trump that Colbert has employed for months).
He kicked off Tuesday night’s live show with a joke sketch about time-traveling back to the 1990s to retrieve his old Bill Clinton jokes in honor of the former president’s speech (he came up with the still relevant quip, “How are Clinton scandals like Pokémon? You’ll never catch ’em all!”) But then Colbert sat down to interview cartoon Hillary on what was a historic night for the real Hillary Clinton and the nation.
“For those of you just joining democracy,” Colbert said, “tonight Hillary Clinton became the first woman ever nominated for U.S. president by a major political party. I think a hundred years from now our grandchildren will look back on this day and say ‘Why weren’t you more excited? What’s wrong with you people?'”
Colbert then opined that the reason for the overall ennui regarding Clinton’s nomination might have something to do with her personality, or even the fact that she’s been present in the public sphere for so many years already. “What do we have to do to understand the real Hillary Clinton?” the comedian asked before introducing cartoon Hillary.
The cartoon version of the candidate, who referred to GOP nominee Donald Trump as “a screaming cantaloupe,” featured Clinton’s trademark pantsuit as well as an exaggerated smile and an obsessive tendency to offer effusive thanks for every “great question” she received. “Bernie Sanders is a great friend, and has been for days now,” cartoon Hillary told Colbert. “Bernie tells it like it is, which is what I do when I am alone and no one is watching.”
Later, Colbert played some pre-taped questions for Clinton from Republicans the comedian had filmed at the Republican National Convention last week in Cleveland. One female GOP-er asked Clinton what she’s “hiding” in the e-mails she did not hand over to the F.B.I. for its recent criminal investigation. “Hillary” responded: “As a former Senator and Secretary of State, I am the most highly-qualified person to ever seek the office of President. But, as a grandmother, sometimes I make a ‘boo-boo’ on the computer.”
Going back to last week’s Republican National Convention, Colbert has been hosting live episodes of The Late Show each night after the conventions in an effort to boost his show’s struggling ratings. While last week’s shows provided a solid ratings bump for the show, which averaged its largest weekly audience since early-May, Colbert still lost out to Jimmy Fallon and NBC’s The Tonight Show in the ratings battle.