CNN’s Chris Wallace Roasts Republican Speaker Chaos With Stephen Colbert: ‘Would Never Have Happened Under Nancy Pelosi’

CNN anchor Chris Wallace roasted the chaotic Republican House speaker election with late-night host Stephen Colbert, pointing out that outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi would not have allowed this to happen.

Wallace was a guest on Thursday night’s edition of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, during which he and Colbert lampooned the speaker race that has seen House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy fail to secure a win in eleven consecutive votes.

Wallace laughed at Colbert’s delighted reaction, and shared a conversation in which he agreed with Alexandra Pelosi that Speaker Nancy would never have let this even get started:

STEPHEN COLBERT: Now, Chris, it’s so lovely to have you here. Because what I more want on on day three of Kevin McCarthageddon, as Have you ever seen anything like this?

CHRIS WALLACE: As you called it in your monologue, Christmas for Stevie, you you could not be happier, could you?

STEPHEN COLBERT: Um no. Birth of my children and this.

CHRIS WALLACE: We literally do not have one-half of one-third of the government in operation. And for you, it is. Look at you. You’re just, you’re just beside yourself.

STEPHEN COLBERT: Well, it just says to me that there is such a thing as a God who pays attention to people like Kevin McCarthy, who are overt hypocrites, who clearly sold their soul for political power and get nothing in return. It just makes me happy that that there is such a thing as karma. How about that?

CHRIS WALLACE: I have an interesting story to tell you. I came up on the train today from. That’s the end of the story. No, from. From..

STEPHEN COLBERT: I’m gripped so far!

CHRIS WALLACE: From D.C. to New York. Yeah. When I got to New York, I happened to bump into Nancy Pelosi’s daughter.

STEPHEN COLBERT: Alexandra.

CHRIS WALLACE: Alexandra! Exactly. Well, she’s got other daughters, but it was Alexandra.

STEPHEN COLBERT: I guessed.

CHRIS WALLACE: In any case, we both agreed this would never have happened under Nancy Pelosi because Nancy Pelosi had one rule, which was: if you don’t have the votes, you don’t go to the floor. So they, she simply would have said, “Well, the House is in recess. We’re going to wait.” She would not have had ten votes, which is what we’re at as we speak right now. And when you go down, and incidentally, there is a possibility that they have to keep voting because they, Kevin McCarthy may not have enough votes to adjourn till tomorrow.

STEPHEN COLBERT: Right. Because the Democrats wanted to keep going because it’s embarrassing.

CHRIS WALLACE: Kevin McCarthy is pleasing you.

STEPHEN COLBERT: Exactly.

CHRIS WALLACE: And the anti-Kevin people want to please you… No that’s not true. No. But in any case, there are only 200 votes. So they may stay in there forever just voting over and over again.

STEPHEN COLBERT: Is there let’s see, is there an end game here? Do you think he’s got any plan? Because what more can you give away? They’ve reduced the size of that speaker’s chair with all the things that he’s given up and he’s like, “I’ll lop off anything to fit in that chair at this point.”

CHRIS WALLACE: Well, and look, that’s the real point. At some point, we’re going to get a speaker. And, you know, as bad as it seems right now, it’s going to be forgotten what we went through in the first week of January. But there’s going to be a Republican who’s going to be running the House. And with all of the things that Kevin McCarthy has given away, can the House do anything, for instance? They’re going to have to, at some point pass a budget to keep the government funded. They’re going to at some point have to raise the debt limit or we go into default. There’s if they can’t elect a speaker, what makes you think they’re going to be able to take the tough votes to actually keep the government in operation?

Watch above via The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

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