Stephen Colbert shows Alex Jones how to be a right-wing 'performance artist'

Alex Jones, "the insane radio host, is in a custody battle right now, and so he's trying to prove that he's stable enough to care for children," Stephen Colbert said on Monday's Late Show. "Unfortunately for him, he works in front of a camera." He played an example. "Clips like that make Alex Jones seem less like a fit parent and more like a coked-out football coach in a police standoff," he said, apparently based on real-life experience. "But in a dramatic twist now, his lawyer is arguing that Alex Jones is 'playing a character' and is 'a performance artist.'"

"I'm not sure that helps," Colbert said. "Do we really want kids to be raised by performance artists? 'No dessert until you finish eating your flag. Then tell me what it meant.' Of course not everyone realizes he's playing a character," he noted, name-checking "the most famous Alex Jones supporter," President Trump. "Here's the deal: If Alex Jones really is a character, then President Trump got phished hard. This is worse than when George H.W. Bush gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to RoboCop."

For all the mockery, though, Colbert had some sympathy. "I, for one, I feel for Alex Jones," he said. "I mean, everybody knows that for many years, I played a satirical right-wing character." Then he threw a curveball: "This happened to me all the time when I played my right-wing character, talk-radio host Tuck Buckford." He showed a "clip," and showed off a pretty spot-on Alex Jones impersonation. Watch below. Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up