Stephen Colbert had his first real crack at Virginia Governor Ralph Northam on Monday night. And he did not hold back.
The Late Show host explained to viewers that the Democratic governor apologized on Friday for appearing in a racist medical school yearbook photo, but would not say whether he was the man in blackface or the one wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood.
“Which brings up an interesting question: Which is worse?” Colbert asked. Imitating Northam, he said, “Uh, I was definitely in the hood, which is why you can’t see how mad I was at that other guy for wearing blackface.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Northam apparently thought his initial apology would help salvage his political career, but as calls for his resignation only grew louder, he had a “change of heart and of memory,” the host said, ultimately coming to the conclusion that it was “definitely not” him in the photo.
Or as Colbert put it, “I am very sorry for what I did. Oh, you still want me to resign? I mean, I did not do it.”
“And what do you mean you ‘finally had a chance to sit down and look’ at it?” he asked. “I’m guessing wearing blackface is one of those things you would remember doing. Like skydiving or your first time. ‘Am I a virgin? Let me check my yearbook and get back to you on that one.’”
