John Kerry left Stephen Colbert stunned after mocking both FBI Director Kash Patel and Donald Trump’s handling of his war on Iran.
The 82-year-old former secretary of state appeared on The Late Show to discuss the president’s Middle Eastern conflict and his administration’s many problems.
“It’s a good thing for America if neither Iran nor Kash Patel are getting bombed,” Kerry quipped.
His remarks come after an explosive report about the 46-year-old FBI director’s allegedly excessive drinking published by The Atlantic last week. Patel’s alcohol habits were outlined by over two dozen anonymous sources. The issue has reportedly reached a point where it could “threaten national security,” the magazine said.
Patel responded to the allegations by slapping a $250 million defamation lawsuit on the publication. Meanwhile, House Democrats have launched an investigation into the embattled FBI director.
The controversy involving Patel has provided plenty of fodder for late-night hosts, including Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. In his Monday night monologue, Colbert mocked Patel for getting “battering-ram drunk.”
Kerry’s subsequent roast was part of a broader conversation with Colbert about the current administration. Kerry, who led the State Department under President Barack Obama, slammed the “failure” of the Trump administration to justify its war on Iran.
“This war did not have to be fought, and it is dangerous,” Kerry began.
“There are greater dangers now than there were previously. And the greatest duty of a president of the United States is to be able to look into the eyes of parents of young people you’re going to send off to fight in your war and make sure that you have made it clear to them there’s a purpose, there’s a clarity, you know exactly what the goals are, and you know what you’re asking people to sacrifice for. That did not happen here. So that is a failed test of the presidency.”
Trump’s war has now entered its sixth week. From its inception, critics questioned the conflict and the 79-year-old president’s rambling, inconsistent justifications for it.
Trump has now extended the ceasefire in Iran indefinitely.
