‘Another Powerful Evening’: Colbert Gets Emotional At Walz Speech

After Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president on Wednesday, CBS’s Stephen Colbert reacted on a live edition of The Late Show by claiming that day three of the DNC was “another powerful evening” that “was about remembering that America is good and that we shouldn’t give in to hopelessness.”

Before Walz spoke, he was introduced by his old football team, which was almost too much for Colbert, who brought out his football referee whistle, “Then, one of Tim Walz’s old neighbors brought out something special: the football team that Coach Walz took from being 27-game losers to state champions. [blows whistle] Flag on the play, too adorable! Roughing the heart, 15 yards. [blows whistle].”

Later, Colbert introduced a clip of Walz by recalling how, “Walz spoke about his and his wife’s experience with fertility treatments.”

In the clip, Walz declared, “When our daughter was born, we named her Hope.”

Colbert concluded his monologue by praising the convention, “C’mon, man. I’m trying to do a comedy show here. Hulk Hogan didn’t make me cry. All in all, I’d think you agree, all in all, another powerful evening in Chicago. Tonight, I believe— I believe tonight was about remembering that America is good and that we shouldn’t give in to hopelessness. And maybe we needed a coach to remind us that this is what locker room talk is supposed to sound like.”

Colbert did not play the part where Walz falsely implied Republicans were coming after IVF, but speaking of the whole convention, later, Colbert welcomed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and told him, “One of the things I loved about the speech is that you—the theme tonight was ‘fight for our freedoms.’” 

He then asked, “And in your speech, you spoke about how your political freedoms, the ones we enjoy today, gave you a life and a family that were impossible for you to imagine when you were younger. What does it mean for you to see freedom, this message, as the centerpiece of a Democratic campaign, a word that is often co-opted by the right?”

Buttigieg hyped, “That’s why I’m thrilled that Kamala Harris has really made it a leading, maybe the leading theme of the campaign because I do think that’s what’s at stake in so many ways.”

He further claimed, “There was a time when you really or mostly heard conservatives talking about freedom, but they usually meant, I think, a very narrow sense of freedom. Freedom from regulation, freedom from corporate taxes, and that was on their mind, and I’m sure that was sincere, but I’m thinking about not freedom from so much as freedom to. Freedom to live a life of your choosing and that’s part of what I got to talk about tonight.”

On the contrary, it is the left that has a narrow definition of freedom because they seem to reduce it to sexual liberalism, whether it is abortion, same-sex marriage, or gender identity. The freedom to disagree with sexual liberalism, however, is not an option.

Here is a transcript for the August 21-22 show:

CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

8/22/2024

12:35 AM ET

COLBERT: Then, one of Tim Walz’s old neighbors brought out something special: the football team that Coach Walz took from being 27-game losers to state champions. [blows whistle] Flag on the play, too adorable! Roughing the heart, 15 yards. [blows whistle].

…

COLBERT: Walz spoke about his and his wife’s experience with fertility treatments.

TIM WALZ: When our daughter was born, we named her Hope.

COLBERT: C’mon, man. I’m trying to do a comedy show here. Hulk Hogan didn’t make me cry. All in all, I’d think you agree, all in all, another powerful evening in Chicago. Tonight, I believe— I believe tonight was about remembering that America is good and that we shouldn’t give in to hopelessness. And maybe we needed a coach to remind us that this is what locker room talk is supposed to sound like.

…

COLBERT: One of the things I loved about the speech is that you—the theme tonight was “fight for our freedoms.” 

PETE BUTTIGIEG: Yeah.

COLBERT: And in your speech, you spoke about how your political freedoms, the ones we enjoy today, gave you a life and a family that were impossible for you to imagine when you were younger. What does it mean for you to see freedom, this message, as the centerpiece of a Democratic campaign, a word that is often co-opted by the right?

PETE BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, that’s why I’m thrilled that Kamala Harris has really made it a leading, maybe the leading theme of the campaign because I do think that’s what’s at stake in so many ways. There was a time when you really or mostly heard conservatives talking about freedom, but they usually meant, I think, a very narrow sense of freedom. Freedom from regulation, freedom from corporate taxes, and that was on their mind, and I’m sure that was sincere, but I’m thinking about not freedom from so much as freedom to. Freedom to live a life of your choosing and that’s part of what I got to talk about tonight.