On Sunday night, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sat down with Lesley Stahl at 60 Minutes, and on Monday night's Late Show, Stephen Colbert sifted through the train wreck of an interview. "DeVos' theory is that if you take money away from public schools and give it to charter schools, that will somehow help the public schools," Colbert said. "It's a system called 'stupid.'" He tore apart her stated hesitation to "talk about all schools in general because schools are made up of individual students." "Your job is to talk about schools 'in general,' not individual students," Colbert noted acerbically. "That's why you run the Department of Education and not the Department of Jennifer."
Colbert also said it's part of DeVos' job to visit underperforming schools, intentionally or not, and her declining to do so is "like a doctor saying, 'I have not intentionally visited sick patients. I give all their medicine to the healthy patients and that gives them an incentive to get better.'" Finally, DeVos said she's not sure exactly how she became President Trump's "most hated Cabinet secretary," and Colbert had some advice: "You should check out last night's 60 Minutes." 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.
-
7 drinks for every winter need possibleThe Week Recommends Including a variety of base spirits and a range of temperatures
-
'We have made it a crime for most refugees to want the American dream'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Was the Azerbaijan Airlines plane shot down?Today's Big Question Multiple sources claim Russian anti-aircraft missile damaged passenger jet, leading to Christmas Day crash that killed at least 38
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
