Gary Johnson finally earns the Stephen Colbert treatment

Stephen Colbert has a good laugh over Gary Johnson

(Image credit: Late Show)

Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson did not make the first presidential debate, but he earned a prime spot on Thursday night's Late Show, for better or worse. "Johnson is the former governor of New Mexico whose platform includes a variety of small-government policies, but the only one you care about is, he wants to legalize marijuana," Stephen Colbert said. "Now, libertarians have long been waiting for a smart, respectable candidate to represent their values — and the wait continues. Because Gary Johnson says some crazy-ass stuff."

Colbert went through Johnson's recent greatest hits, including his strange tongue-biting interview on MSNBC; his unorthodox, long view on global warming; his inability to name a foreign leader he likes or respects — "That is clearly and 'Aleppo moment,' because bombing that bad should be a war crime" — and the original Aleppo moment, when Johnson was baffled at the mention of the war-torn Syrian city. "Obviously he's just kidding," Colbert said. "It's a joke: Knock, knock. Who's there? 400,000 refugees. No surprise Johnson is polling at nearly 37 percent among military service members, because if the president doesn't know about Syria, there's no way he's sending you there."

"Obviously, Gary Johnson's ignorance, crazy ideas, and strange tongue exercises make him the most laughable candidate out there — or it should," Colbert said, flashing a photo of Donald Trump. But Colbert began the segment by noting that Johnson is actually a much bigger problem for Hillary Clinton, since he is siphoning off so many millennials. Not that Clinton isn't trying to win them back.... Peter Weber

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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.