Stephen Colbert Declares War On Joe Scarborough After His Mark Sanford 'Infomercial'
Sanford, South Carolina's former Republican governor, is running in the state's 1st District special election against Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, Stephen's sister.
The comedian's faux conservative persona was so turned off by the "Morning Joe" interview of Sanford that he did the unthinkable — he endorsed a Democrat.
Colbert played clips of Scarborough and "Morning Joe" co-host Mike Barnicle fawning over Sanford, with Barnicle praising Sanford for his "honesty" amid the fallout over a 2009 revelation of an affair with Maria Belen Chapur, who is now Sanford's fiancee. Barnicle asked Sanford if he thought his honesty would "come back to hurt" him during the campaign.
"That is some in-depth reporting," Colbert said. "Woodward and Bernstein may have had 'Deep Throat,' but Mike Barnicle is doing something similar to Mark Sanford."
Then Colbert did something that he said would "shock a lot of people" — he endorsed a Democrat. Of course, that Democrat is also his sister, for whom he is set to host a pair of high-profile fundraisers in the coming weeks.
"Mark Sanford should thank you, Joe Scarborough," Colbert said. "Because I would not have done that if you had not inspired me."
Watch the clip below, via Comedy Central:
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive