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CBS’s Stephen Colbert welcomed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to the Thursday taping of The Late Show to promote his new children’s book and to help explain the difference between Republicans and Democrats. This being The Late DNC Show, Colbert would conclude that the answer is that Republicans don’t believe everyone should have health care.

After Colbert asked the question the first time, he noticed Jefferies gave a generic answer about how Democrats wanted to make people’s lives better, “Just to drill down just a little bit deeper on that, because almost everything in what you just said, while a very good thing to say, a Republican sitting in that seat might say the same thing, other than access to health care for everybody. That might be the one thing where they would—”

The unintended joke is that there hasn’t been “a Republican sitting in that seat” for years, but nevertheless, as the audience started applauding, Colbert continued, “no, because they don’t believe in universal health care. They would like to get rid of Obamacare. That is the one big division, or that is one of the big divisions that you named. Are there other specific things that you go ‘I am a Democrat, therefore I believe this should happen. That my opponents do not believe should happen.’ That’s what I mean by define the Democratic message. What does it mean to be a Democrat as opposed to what it means to be, how you perceive the Republicans?”

A Republican might also say they believe in health care access, they just don’t agree with Democratic proposals. Still, Jeffries responded with more specifics this time, but they were both dishonest portrayals of what Donald Trump actually ran on and came across as man who is cynically uninterested in the future, “Well, we will protect and strengthen Social Security, not eradicate it or end it as we know it. We’ll protect and strengthen Medicare, protect the Affordable Care Act because we believe that in the United States of America, of course, health care should not be a privilege, it should be a right and we want to bring that to life.”

Social Security is running out of money, and if Congress does nothing, current recipients will see their benefits cut, but Democrats aren’t interested in reform because they would rather just raise taxes.

Being a Democrat, Jeffries also felt compelled to hype abortion, “We believe that every job in America should be a good-paying job that allows you to live a comfortable life. Provide for your families and we also believe in a woman’s freedom to make her own reproductive health care decisions.”

One right Democrats do not want to bring to life is the right to life.

Here is a transcript for the November 21-taped show:

CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

11/22/2024

12:11 AM ET

STEPHEN COLBERT: Just to drill down just a little bit deeper on that, because almost everything in what you just said, while a very good thing to say, a Republican sitting in that seat might say the same thing, other than access to health care for everybody. That might be the one thing where they would — no, because they don’t believe in universal health care. They would like to get rid of Obamacare. That is the one big division, or that is one of the big divisions that you named. Are there other specific things that you go “I am a Democrat, therefore I believe this should happen. That my opponents do not believe should happen.” That’s what I mean by define the Democratic message. What does it mean to be a Democrat as opposed to what it means to be, how you perceive the Republicans?

HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Well, we will protect and strengthen Social Security, not eradicate it or end it as we know it. We’ll protect and strengthen Medicare, protect the Affordable Care Act because we believe that in the United States of America, of course, health care should not be a privilege, it should be a right and we want to bring that to life and we believe that every job in America should be a good-paying job that allows you to live a comfortable life. Provide for your families and we also believe in a woman’s freedom to make her own reproductive health care decisions.