Stephen Colbert mocks insta-punditry with hilariously plausible 'hot takes'

Peter Weber, The Week US's avatar
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Stephen Colbert gives his "hot takes"
(Image credit: Late Show)

"A 'hot take' is where I have an opinion right off the bat," Stephen Colbert explained on Tuesday's Late Show. And there are rules, he said, or at least one rule: "I cannot back up anything I'm saying about anything I'm about to say. No information. These aren't just the rules for me: They're the rules for anyone on television who has to have an instant, if uninformed, opinion — just like ESPN anchors, or Ben Carson." With those rules in mind, he gave his steaming hot takes on the lack of pork in prison (and "misplaced bacon rage" in the Middle East), Chase Utley's terrible slide against Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada, and Belarusian elections. Surprisingly, he liked one of those things.

Colbert's "hot takes" are goofy, and they are meant to poke fun at the pundits, but if you read any instant reaction articles to, say, Tuesday night's Democratic debate, they don't seem too far out in left field. Watch and laugh and sigh below. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US
Peter Weber, The Week US

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.