Stephen Colbert grills Cartoon Hillary Clinton over Clinton's 'Lunghazi' scandal


The big political news this week is Hillary Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis, "or as some are calling it, Lunghazi," Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's Late Night, quickly conceding that "not many people" are calling it that, "so far just me, but some." The real problem on Sunday was apparently dehydration, tied to Clinton's alleged refusal to drink water, Colbert said, reading a quote from a staffer — "She won't drink water, and you try telling Hillary Clinton she has to drink water" — then adding: "Challenge accepted." He talked up the benefits of water, 1980s infomercial-style, ending with the tag line "Water: You need it to live" and the admission, after taking a sip, "I am not a fan."
Clinton's failure to disclose her illness for two days "feeds right into the narrative that Clinton's hiding things and that she's too unhealthy to serve," he said, then scoffed at Clinton's claim that "like anyone who's been ever been home sick from work," she's "anxious" to get back to work. "Okay, she's an alien," he said, then re-enacted his own sick-at-home routine. "Now this level of secrecy for something so seemingly minor comes off as, frankly, cartoonish," Colbert said, and that set up a conversation with Cartoon Hillary Clinton. The interview is, of course, cartoonish, and you can watch it below. Peter Weber
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
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.
-
5 artfully drawn cartoons about Donald Trump's Epstein doodle
Cartoons Artists take on a mountainous legacy, creepy art, and more
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorship
Talking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
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