Stephen Colbert Gives Jim Jordan 'Historic' Smackdown In Scorching Monologue

Ed Mazza
·2 min read
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“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert returned to his show on Monday night after last week’s battle with COVID-19, saying he’s feeling better “mostly because Jim Jordan will not be speaker of the House.”

The Ohio Republican was forced to withdraw from the race after losing three votes on the House floor last week.

“This is an historic humiliation for a man who will not be in the history books,” Colbert declared, referring to him as “speaker of the nothing.”

Colbert noted that GOP moderates tanked Jordan’s candidacy days after one of his allies reportedly declared that “moderates always cave. A tale as old as time.”

“That, of course, is a Disney reference, though I think Jordan prefers that song from ‘Encanto,’ ‘We Don’t Talk About What Happened at Ohio State,’” Colbert said, then encouraged his audience to “Google it.”

Jordan was a wrestling coach at Ohio State University in the 1980s and ’90s, and has been accused of ignoring sexual abuse claims against the team’s doctor. Jordan has denied the allegations, which have been corroborated by multiple former athletes.

The collapse of Jordan’s speaker bid has led to a Republican free-for-all in the race for the next leader, with nine GOP lawmakers declaring their candidacy, although one has since withdrawn.

Given the divisions within the party, it’s not clear if any of them can win the 217 votes likely needed to secure the position, leading Colbert’s team to put together this mock movie trailer: