Stephen Colbert thinks Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance may have some serious competition — but not so much in his bid to become senator. No, Colbert joked on Tuesday night’s “Late Show” that Vance would have to oust Lindsey Graham if they really wanted to suck on Donald Trump.
With the midterm elections only four weeks away, Colbert used part of his monologue to check in on a few races (including the race between bears, one of which is apparently named for him). Among those races is the race for the Ohio Senate, in which voters have to choose between Democrat Tim Ryan and “Republican venture capitalist and Baby You stick a beard for Halloween” JD Vance.
Vance has been embraced by the right-wing, even as former President Trump is being impeached twice for speaking at his campaign events. Colbert also called footage of Vance’s “ringing endorsement” last month, in which Trump told a rallying crowd that “Jedi is kissing my ass, he wants my support!”
“J.D., if you want to do that, you have to squeeze next to Lindsey Graham,” joked Colbert. “Because they’re both, they’re like a pair of two puppies fighting over a teat.” (Naturally, the late night host also copied what that fight looked like, which you can see in the video above).
Colbert had some good news for politicians, though. “Luckily, there are a lot of donkeys out there to go to,” he joked. The late-night host turned his attention to Vance’s rival, Democrat Tim Ryan.
During a debate on Tuesday, Ryan heavily denounced Vance for calling Vance “can’t stand before anyone” and Trump’s remarks. Ryan said during his remarks, “Ohio needs an ass kicker, not a kisser.” And of course, Colbert was tickled by that particular sound bite.
“Well said. Well said, Tim Ryan!” Colbert praised. “And more importantly, whoever wins, the Ohio senators will do something with the ass.”
At the end of the day though, Colbert argued that “no one saw Jedi Vance more out of touch than Jedi Vance,” and scoffed at Vance’s own debatable choices. You can watch the full segment in the video above.