Morning Vid: Colbert Questions the Purpose of Sunday Talk Shows
He grills Jake Tapper on his new fact-checking policy
.Plodding, portentous, Beltway-centric Sunday morning news shows are easy fodder for late-night satirists and talk show hosts. So when Jake, Tapper, interim host of "This Week," announced the show would begin fact-checking its guests, Stephen Colbert decided to take a closer look.
The Comedy Central host brought Tapper on his show, grilling him on the decision to fact-check. "I am the first line of defense, and I am supposed to check the facts if people say things that are false," Tapper explained. When Colbert turned to the broader topic of Sunday shows, the exchange was substantive and sarcastic.
COLBERT: What purpose do you think the Sunday shows serve?
TAPPER: To elucidate. To provide information for the viewers so they can determine what's going on in Washington.
COLBERT: OK, that's the first fact you've got wrong. Because it's about drama. It's about winning a battle. It's two gladiators in one ring. One can choose the sword of truth, but the other can choose the AK-47 of bulls---. I'm going with the AK.
His joking aside, Colbert implicitly endorsed Tapper's cause by bringing on a Politifact employee to "fact-check" the second half of the interview.
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Sunday Morning Fact-Checking - Jake Tapper & Bill Adair | ||||
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