In Heartfelt Monologue, Colbert Thanks Romney for Political Courage

The Late Show host spoke on the importance of honoring oaths amid Republican cowardice.

Stephen Colbert on Wednesday added his voice to the wave of praise for Mitt Romney, the sole Republican senator to vote to convict President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial. Romney’s decision, which made him the first senator in US history to vote to remove a president of their own party from office, came as an act of rare political courage, one that clearly shocked and angered a White House hoping to declare the impeachment trial nothing more than a partisan witchhunt.

“Hearing Mitt Romney take his oath to God seriously was like finding water in the desert,” the Late Show host said in a moving monologue. “Because we know Republicans are lying when they say that Trump didn’t do anything wrong or maybe he did but shouldn’t be removed.” 

He continued: “Now, oaths may not mean a lot to some people. But here’s what it’s about: When you take an oath, you can’t think one thing and say another. You are asking God to witness, on the pain of your immortal soul, that what you whisper in your heart is what comes out of your mouth—though most of these guys are talking out of their ass.”

Colbert ended by thanking the Utah senator for his honesty and “for serving the Constitution rather than that monstrous child in the White House.”

“Why can’t he be president? Thanks, Obama.”

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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