Stephen Colbert blasts GOP for living "in a world of imagination"

"I, like Newt Gingrich, believe we can defeat ISIS with the power of make-believe”

Published August 29, 2014 2:00PM (EDT)

 Stephen Colbert       (screenshot/The Colbert Report)
Stephen Colbert (screenshot/The Colbert Report)

On Thursday's "The Colbert Report," host Stephen Colbert poked fun at the way the GOP is suggesting we take on Islamic extremist group ISIS, their own alternate reality.

A Fox News host has an odd idea: “Can I just make a special request from a magic lamp? Can we get, like, Netanyahu and Putin in for, like, 48 hours as head of the United States? I don’t know, you know, I just want somebody to get in here and get it done right.”

However, if we're playing make-believe, Colbert would rather play like Newt Gingrich.

“Yes, as long as we’re making shit up, as a conservative, my allegiance is to an ever greater imaginary leader — Ronald Reagan," Colbert states. "He is the one we should be pretending is stopping this crisis, and Newt Gingrich agrees. Yesterday, he posted a lengthy fake speech he imagines Reagan would give if he were still around.”

Watch below:

And then watch Colbert assume an Orson Welles character to bring back Reagan:


By Sarah Gray

Sarah Gray is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on innovation. Follow @sarahhhgray or email sgray@salon.com.

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