Watch Stephen Colbert wrestle with covering mass shootings like Oregon's on late-night comedy


"I want to talk about pretending," Stephen Colbert said at the beginning of Friday's Late Show. He noted that he famously pretended to play a certain person on late-night TV for a decade, then said that now he's pretending to know what he's doing as himself, he's not sure how to talk about the day's big news when the day's big news is a mass shooting like the one that happened in Roseburg, Oregon. "In the face of the killings in Oregon yesterday, I honestly don't know what to do or say, other than that our hearts are broken for those struck by this senseless tragedy," he began.
"I can't pretend that it didn't happen," Colbert explained. "I also can't pretend to know what to do to prevent what happened yesterday all the times it has happened before. But I think pretending is part of the problem. These things happen over and over again, and we are naturally horrified and shocked when we hear about them. But then we change nothing, and we pretend that it won't happen again." He doesn't know what the solution is, he added, "but I do know that one of the definitions of insanity is doing nothing and then pretending that nothing will change."
And then the show went on. "Speaking of honest insanity, Donald Trump," Colbert said, taking to heart Trump's advice to stop the pretending about politics. He started with Trump's "0 percent" chance of being elected president and went on to discuss the House Benghazi committee gaffe from would-be House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Watch below and you will never look at McCarthy challenger Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) without thinking "seductive beaver mascot" again. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
JD Vance steps into the spotlight as MAGA heir apparent
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The vice president is taking an increasingly proactive role in a MAGA movement roiled by scandal and anxious about a post-Trump future
-
Why does the US want to put nuclear reactors on the moon?
Today's Big Question The plans come as NASA is facing significant budget cuts
-
Congress should 'step in' to block Trump's White House ballroom makeover
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in Zürich
The Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation