CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert said it was not fair to compare ICE officers and Border Patrol agents to Nazis.
“Do not compare ICE or Border Patrol agents to the Nazis,” Colbert said during Wednesday’s “The Late Show.” “That’s an unfair comparison. The Nazis were willing to show their faces.”
Colbert’s statement was in response to clip featuring Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and CNN’s Dana Bash.
The two were discussing Alex Pretti, the protester who was shot and killed by federal agents Saturday, per the Daily Wire.
“Dana, let’s look at why he was there in the first place,” Bovino said. “Was he simply walking by and just happened to walk into a law enforcement situation and try to direct traffic and stand in the middle of the road and then assault, delay and obstruct law enforcement? Or was he there for a reason? Did he fall victim to that violent and heated rhetoric by a [Minneapolis] Mayor [Jacob] Frey, a [Minnesota] Governor [Tim] Walz? Look, Dana, they’re trying to portray Border Patrol agents and ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazi and many other words. Did this individual fall victim, as many others have, to that type of heated rhetoric?”
Watch:
Colbert, who recently revealed his last show will air May 21, has been an antagonist to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
In November 2022, he called Republicans “fascists” and Ku Klux Klan members after predictions of a red wave failed to come to fruition in the midterm elections.
Colbert said in May 2022 the GOP was “choosing its direction for 2022: original recipe nutballs or extra crispy cuckoo cojones.”
He was thrilled when Democrats performed better than expected then.
“As a performer, there are three things you don’t want to follow: animals, children, or a fascist takeover of your country,” Colbert said. “These results is (sic) a crisp nut-punch to Republican optimism leading up to this election.”
Colbert went on to talk about the “red wave.”
“’The vaunted red wave never hit the shore in mid-term elections,’” he said. “‘That’s not a red wave,’ and ‘The red wave was more like a pink splash.’”
“Yes, a pink splash,” Colbert said. “It was a salmon drizzle, a rosy wash. It’s like what happens when you accidentally wash your Klan robes with your MAGA hat. It’s just a little pink wash.”
