Pro-Palestinian protest derails Nancy Pelosi’s live ‘Late Show’ interview with Stephen Colbert
Protests against the Israel-Hamas war taking place on the streets of downtown Chicago outside the 2024 Democratic National Convention were streamed live on Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday at the city’s Auditorium.
Explosions Occur in Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosiappeared in Tuesday night’s episode. According to Hollywood ReporterAnother audience member shouted “Free Palestine!” and questioned US support for Israel minutes into Pelosi’s interview. “For those who don’t know, there’s a protest going on in the auditorium right now,” the host said. Stephen Colbert“Wait, girl, I hear you. We’re actually in a commercial break, but the topic is Israel and Palestine, and if you sit down, we have to go to a commercial break and when we come back I’ll ask the next question on that topic, if you’re listening.”
After Colbert pressed Pelosi about her involvement in Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, he moved on to a new topic. “Let’s talk about another aspect of power: the United States’ use of power abroad,” he began. After once again acknowledging the protest, Colbert asked, “If the goal is a peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians, what role does the United States play?”
Pelosi first highlighted Biden’s decades of foreign policy experience. “I just want to say that this is a role that President Biden has done very well. He was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee for many years,” she said. “He was a senator for a long time, vice president, and president. So his global experience is vast.”
After quoting John F. Kennedy’s inaugural slogan, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” Pelosi noted, “The next thing he said in his speech was, ‘To the nations of the world, ask not what America can do for you, but what we can do together for the freedom of man.’ That’s our mission… Yes, we are committed to Israel. It’s in our security interest to do so. Israel has been attacked by a terrorist organization. We want the hostages released. But we don’t want children killed in Gaza. And so we have to come up with a solution. And now, we just received notification earlier today that Israel has agreed to a ceasefire. We hope Hamas will agree to it. But that leads me to say to you, war has no place in a civilized society. We have to learn more about trust and peace.”
