CHICAGO — Protesters interrupted the live broadcast of CBS's “The Late Late Show With Stephen Colbert” Tuesday night, chanting loudly from the auditorium balcony several times during two appearances with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi was there to discuss the Democratic National Convention and her new book, “The Art of Power.” Several minutes into Colbert’s segment with Pelosi, a protester began shouting from above about the war in Gaza.
Colbert addressed the person and the audience, saying, “For people who can't figure it out, there's an ongoing protest in the audience.”
The anchor then quickly cut the question to commercial, while noting that he had planned to ask Pelosi about the protests and concerns about the Middle East. “The topic is Israel and Palestine, and if you have a seat, we should go to a commercial break,” Colbert said. “When we come back, I’ll ask the next question I had on that topic.”
Colbert’s conversation with Pelosi began with a discussion of her involvement in President Joe Biden’s decision to step down from the 2024 presidential race. Pelosi dismissed the idea that she was the “architect” of that choice, and even initially said she hadn’t called Biden at all. The second night of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” live at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, immediately following the Democratic National Convention, was unexpectedly cut short.
When they returned, Colbert first finished his questions about Biden, and whether it was rare to see a leader cede power in this way. Then he changed course.
“Let’s talk about another aspect of power: the use of American power abroad,” he said, echoing the protesters’ question. “As I said earlier, there is a political protest here. There is a political tradition in the city, you are a politician and protests are natural. People are protesting, even within the Democratic Party, there is disagreement about the proper use of American power, especially our protected power abroad, whether hard power or soft power. If the goal is a peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians, what role does the United States play?”
Pelosi’s response focused first on President Biden’s current and past record on foreign policy. “Let me say that this was a role that President Biden played very well for years, as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee,” Pelosi said. “He was a long-time senator, vice president and chairman. So his global experience was tremendous.”
Pelosi recounted how she attended John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, where he delivered his famous speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Pelosi noted that “the next sentence he said in the speech was, ‘To the nations of the world, ask not what America can do for you, ask what we can do working together for the freedom of humanity.’ That’s our mission… Yes, we made a commitment to Israel. It was in our security interest. Israel was under attack by a terrorist organization. We want to free the hostages. But we don’t want to kill children in Gaza. So we have to find a solution. And now, we just got word earlier today that Israel has agreed to a ceasefire. We hope Hamas will agree as well. But that leads me to say to you that war has no place in civilized society. We have to learn more about trust and peace.”
During the latter part of this response, one attendee began shouting, repeating her words, “And war has no role in a civilized society,” followed by several other attendees who also shouted, to which Colbert replied, “As you can see from the ongoing outcry here, that answer is not satisfactory to some people. Would you like to respond to what they are saying?”
Colbert then turned to the protester and asked if he wanted a response to his question, and asked if he would listen to Pelosi’s response. He turned back to Pelosi and asked her, “They said the United States should have no role in supplying Israel with weapons to kill people in Gaza. That’s what they’re saying.”
“Israel has the right to defend itself, but the other part of it is that what has been so important to all of us for many years is that there has to be a two-state solution,” Pelosi said. “You can’t have peace unless you have a two-state solution. Israel, a secure, democratic, Jewish state in the region. The Palestinians have their own secure state there as well. Unless you have a two-state solution, you’re not going to have a solution to this problem.”
At this point the shouts got louder and Colbert ordered the protesters, saying, “Please do not interrupt my guest.”
Colbert then ended the segment by saying, “Madam President, we are on a live show and we have to leave at this point. Please come back so we can continue the conversation.”
Pelosi then tried to change the subject by ending her remarks with, “I have to say, isn’t it great to be in Chicago?” The segment then went to a commercial break. There were no further interruptions during the show; according to sources familiar with the matter, all protesters left the venue on their own accord and the matter was handled peacefully.
Hakeem Jeffries was the next guest, and Colbert also asked him about the ongoing conflict in Gaza in a hypothetical question: How would Speaker Jeffries advise President Harris?
“What President Biden is doing now, and what Kamala Harris is doing as part of the Biden-Harris administration, is doing everything she can to try to get a ceasefire. To get the hostages back home. To increase humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians who are in harm’s way, through no fault of their own. To increase that assistance immediately and sustainably. To find a path to a just and lasting peace. To enable Israel and the Palestinian people to experience the dignity and self-determination they deserve,” Jeffries said.
At the end of the night, after the show was over, Colbert addressed the audience and thanked them for coming, expressing his gratitude — but he did not address the protesters further.
As the Democratic National Convention gets underway in Chicago, protests have erupted across the city, including one on Tuesday where dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Chicago police on Tuesday during a demonstration outside the Israeli consulate in downtown Chicago.
The Auditorium Theater is located in the South Loop, several miles from the Democratic National Convention, but a large number of police officers could be seen stationed outside the theater as the audience left the theater around 12:40 a.m. Central Time.
This is the second day of Colbert's live show in Chicago, with Monday's episode ending just after 1 a.m. Central time.
