Stephen Colbert calls for 'idiot' Sen. John Kennedy to be voted out for remarks following Boulder shooting

To open The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Tuesday night, Colbert addressed yet another tragic mass shooting, the second in less than a week, this one in Boulder, Colorado, which left ten dead. But being that this is such a common occurrence in the United States these days, Colbert didn’t linger on the tragedy of it, instead moving on to those in power who refuse to do anything to stop future mass shootings. Colbert specifically singled out Louisiana Senator John Kennedy. Kennedy made a couple statements about mass shootings onTuesday that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

First, in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun control, Kennedy compared mass shooting to drunk driving.

“We have a lot of drunk drivers in America that kill a lot of people, we ought to try to combat that too,” Kennedy said. “The answer is not to get rid of all sober drivers. The answer is to concentrate on the problem.”

“Okay, I’ll take that deal,” Colbert said in response. “Let's regulate guns the way we regulate alcohol and cars. You got to be 21, got to pass a test to get a license, you got to have registration and insurance for your gun. If you move to a new state, you got to do the whole damn thing over again, and you can't go out loaded.”

Later in the day, Kennedy said, “I don’t believe we have a gun control problem in America, I believe we have an idiot control problem.”

Colbert was just one of many to flip that statement back on Kennedy.

“Oh, we definitely have an idiot control problem. It's people who don't recognize that this country has long had a gun problem, JOHN KENNEDY,” Colbert said. “So, when idiots like John Kennedy refuse to do anything about getting rid of idiots' guns, it's clearly time to get rid of idiots like John Kennedy, and that means voting them out.”

Video transcript

[WHOOSH]

STEPHEN COLBERT: Oh, we definitely have an idiot control problem. It's people who don't recognize that this country has long had a gun problem, John Kennedy.

KYLIE MAR: On "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Tuesday, Colbert called out Louisiana Senator John Kennedy for comments he made earlier in the day concerning the deadly mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado on Monday.

JOHN KENNEDY: I don't believe we have a gun control problem in America. I believe we have an idiot control problem.

KYLIE MAR: As Kennedy and Senate Republicans once again appear poised to block gun control legislation, Colbert called for him and others like him to be voted out of office.

STEPHEN COLBERT: So when idiots like John Kennedy refuse to do anything about getting rid of idiot's guns, it's clearly time to get rid of idiots like John Kennedy. And that means voting them out.

KYLIE MAR: Also on Tuesday, Kennedy compared mass shootings to drunk driving, saying, the answer is not to get rid of all sober drivers. The answer is to concentrate on the problem. While CNN's Jake Tapper was baffled by the comparison, calling it stupid, Colbert pointed out the good in that argument.

STEPHEN COLBERT: I'll take that deal. Let's regulate guns the way we regulate alcohol and cars. You've got to be 21. You've got to pass a test to get a license.

You've got to have registration and insurance for your gun. If you move to a new state, you've got to do the whole damn thing over again. And you can't go out loaded.

KYLIE MAR: Colbert also called out far right Colorado representative and gun enthusiast Lauren Boebert who posted a tweet after the shooting, saying, while we are all still awaiting important information and details in this case, random public shootings and senseless acts of violence are never OK.

STEPHEN COLBERT: Where does she find the courage? Senseless acts of violence are never OK, implying, of course, that intentional violence is fine. You know, the kind her buddies plan on Parler.

[WHOOSH]