The synergy between the liberal late night comedy shows and the liberal news media was on full display on Thursday night as The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert and The Daily Show’s Ronny Chieng each relied on their journalist compatriots on CBS and The Daily Show, respectively, to claim Republicans are, in Colbert’s words, being “stupid” and “fearmongering” by saying Democrats want to give federal benefits to illegal aliens in exchange for ending the government shutdown.
Colbert introduced a montage of Republicans making that point by declaring, “The sticking point of the shutdown negotiations has been healthcare. The Democrats want to restore some of the Affordable Care Act benefits that the Republicans cut earlier this year in the Big Beautiful Bill, or as the Republicans describe it.”
Vice President JD Vance concluded the clip package by stating, “The Democrats, their whole argument is we are going to shut down the government unless you give a trillion dollars for medical benefits for illegal aliens.”
Colbert then introduced another montage, “No, it's not their argument, Beardo. It’s not—no one is proposing that. That's not true, right, TV peoples?”
After a trio of clips from CNN’s Pamela Brown and MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle and Ana Cabrera claiming illegal immigrants cannot sign up for federal benefits, Colbert agreed, “Yeah. And if you're just gonna completely make up stupid fearmongering arguments, at least make 'em fun! 'Ladies and gentlemen, Democrats are spending trillions of dollars so they can Jurassic Park your children. It's shocking. They're going to trap your child in amber, suck out the baby blood, then turn your little child into T-rexes. The worst part is, the worst part, ladies and gentlemen: they'll never be able to hug you.'”
The problem for Colbert and his friends is what is the definition of an illegal immigrant? According to Vance, the Biden administration waved a magic wand and gave millions of illegal immigrants legal status by designating them as parolees.
Over at The Daily Show, Chieng teed up a clip of NBC’s Ryan Nobles, “But this is a pretty big accusation, okay? Democrats say they're shutting down the government because they want to preserve health care for tens of millions of Americans. But Republicans say Democrats just want to give healthcare to illegal immigrants. So, can someone just clear this up for me?”
Nobles managed to mention the discrepancy between Vance’s and the Democrats’ different definitions of “illegal immigrant,” but he explained it quite badly, “Republicans pressuring moderate Democrats by claiming they are pushing for health care for undocumented immigrants. [jump cut] But their accusation is dubious and refers to a small group of benefit recipients whose status is considered lawfully present. Federal law explicitly prohibits undocumented people from receiving aid.”
Chieng then tried to summarize, “So, in other words, some of the healthcare that Democrats are trying to get for Americans might also trickle down to some people who are not Americans. You know when you're showering and you aren't trying to wash your feet, but it just, sort of, happens by accident along the way? Which I actually just learned is how white people wash their feet? They don't make a point. They don't lift up their feet and wash it. They just—if it happens, it happens? Anyway, that is what this shutdown is about now.”
It is one thing for Democrats to argue parolees should not be counted as illegal immigrants. It is quite another for media people, including comedians, to stand on their soapboxes and claim that Republican arguments to the contrary are so wildly false that they must interrupt Republican press conferences to prevent them from being heard. That’s not what fact-checking is supposed to be.
Here are transcripts for the October 2 shows:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
10/2/2025
11:43 PM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: The sticking point of the shutdown negotiations has been healthcare. The Democrats want to restore some of the Affordable Care Act benefits that the Republicans cut earlier this year in the Big Beautiful Bill, or as the Republicans describe it.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: They want to give taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits to illegal aliens.
MIKE JOHNSON: We won't agree to return to restore healthcare to illegal aliens.
STEPHEN MILLER: The Democrats are demanding free healthcare for illegal aliens.
JD VANCE: The Democrats, their whole argument is we are going to shut down the government unless you give a trillion dollars for medical benefits for illegal aliens.
COLBERT: No, it's not their argument, Beardo. It’s not—no one is proposing that. That's not true, right, TV peoples?
PAMELA BROWN: That is not true. Illegal immigrants are not eligible for federal healthcare programs.
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Undocumented immigrants cannot sign up for the Affordable Care Act coverage.
ANA CABRERA: To be clear, this is not true. Undocumented immigrants are banned from federally-funded healthcare programs.
COLBERT: Yeah. And if you're just gonna completely make up stupid fearmongering arguments, at least make 'em fun! "Ladies and gentlemen, Democrats are spending trillions of dollars so they can Jurassic Park your children. It's shocking. They're going to trap your child in amber, suck out the baby blood, then turn your little child into T-rexes. The worst part is, the worst part, ladies and gentlemen: they'll never be able to hug you.
***
Comedy Central The Daily Show
10/2/2025
11:04 PM ET
RONNY CHIENG: But this is a pretty big accusation, okay? Democrats say they're shutting down the government because they want to preserve health care for tens of millions of Americans. But Republicans say Democrats just want to give healthcare to illegal immigrants. So, can someone just clear this up for me?
RYAN NOBLES: Republicans pressuring moderate Democrats by claiming they are pushing for health care for undocumented immigrants. [jump cut] But their accusation is dubious and refers to a small group of benefit recipients whose status is considered lawfully present. Federal law explicitly prohibits undocumented people from receiving aid.
CHIENG: So, in other words, some of the healthcare that Democrats are trying to get for Americans might also trickle down to some people who are not Americans. You know when you're showering and you aren't trying to wash your feet, but it just, sort of, happens by accident? Which I actually just learned is how white people wash their feet? They don't make a point. They don't lift up their feet and wash it. They just — if it happens, it happens? Anyway, that is what this shutdown is about now.