CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will not survive to see the conclusion of the 2028 Democratic Primary, but that isn’t stopping Colbert from using his remaining few months to help kick-start the process. On Tuesday, Colbert welcomed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom he praised for “being interesting,” for three segments and joined in fearmongering that there might not even be a free and fair 2028 election.

Colbert began by praising Newsom’s meme game, “You've got this new communication strategy or, at least, new for a Democrat. It's called, I hope I'm pronouncing this correctly, 'Being interesting' and when did it occur to you? When did the lightning bulb go over your head that perhaps you should do something that was kind of funny and make a point? Where did this strategy come from? Because let's give the people an idea.”

After Colbert showed some examples of Newsom’s office tweeting in a Trumpian manner, Newsom declared, “The strategy is inspiration-desperation, right, the two driving forces in life, and everything we were trying to do to break through wasn't working anymore, and so we decided to do something, you're right, to your point, novel, called humor. And, I've got to say, oftentimes Democrats, we're a little, you know, just,  we don't—we're not as humorous as we should be… So we thought we'd have some fun with it, but I never imagined it would break through like it has and get under the skin of the president of the United States and some of my friends.”

After Colbert asked who these friends are, Newsom tried to seem as if he was hedging, “Some of my friends on, you know, Pravda, Fox.”

Colbert singled out Dana Perino for criticism and after a clip of her urging Newsom to quit “making a fool of yourself,” Colbert exclaimed, “She has to have some sense. There’s no way—she's a very smart person. Just have some sense of the irony of that critique.

Newsom claimed all he was doing was “a mirror up to Trump and the absurdity of what's going on in this country, the absurdity of Donald Trump, the absurdity of these networks playing into it,” but Perino is right. It looks foolish because it comes across as a cheap imitation.

Later, Colbert wondered, “Why do you think it so deeply resonates with people? Why do you think this has made such a difference? I mean, you're glad it is, but what do you think people are responding to?”

Because the late night shows are places for Democratic politicians to fire up the faithful, Newsom let some profanity fly, “I think what people appreciate is that we are willing to fight and not only fight symbolically by having a little bit of fun, but fight substantively. We have 41 lawsuits against this son of a bitch. We’re pushing back and we’re winning.”

Colbert also observed how Newsom has interviewed Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk on his podcast, “What did you get from those conversations? Because sometimes some people come on podcasts or even television shows and aren't honest representatives of their ideas. I’m curious what you got from those conversations?”

Newsom began by saying a lot of noble things about talking to people you disagree with and spoke well of Kirk, “He was kind enough to fly out. We spent an hour and a half together. Interestingly we were staying connected up until just a few weeks ago until his tragic assassination.”

However, Newsom also missed the memo about toning down wild rhetoric, “I fear that we will not have an election in 2028. I really mean that in the core of my soul. Unless we wake up to the code red, what's happening in this country, and we wake up soberly to how serious this moment is.”

After a commercial, Colbert wanted to elaborate, “you raise a bigger question about, like, who will win in the midterms to the idea that perhaps we won't have free and fair and open elections in 2026—”

As Newsom interrupted to claim, “We will have Putin-type elections,” Colbert continued, “How would you imagine, where do you see the, sort of, the bread crumbs to that right now? It’s the ultimate fear: is that you no longer—you no longer have your democracy to be able to make change peacefully.”

Newsom began by asserting Trump “knows he's going to lose the midterm elections,” and that is why he is demanding red states redraw their congressional maps. But beyond redistricting, Newsom freaked:

When we kicked off the campaign, and this is important for people to understand, when we kicked it off at the Democracy Center in Los Angeles, he sent out ICE and Border Patrol to intimidate folks from walking in to our event, he ended up arresting this poor soul that was just trying to sell strawberries as collateral damage to intimidate us. That is a preview, Stephen, of things to come and voting booths and polling places across this country.

Newsom added, “It's the largest private domestic army of its type, police force anywhere in the world. He’ll have 30,000 people that increasingly appear to be swearing an oath of office to him, not the constitution of the United States.”

The next morning, a sniper targeted an ICE facility in Dallas. If people want to dial down the rhetoric, they should start with the late night shows.

Here is a transcript for the September 23-taped show:

CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

9/23/2025

11:56 PM ET

STEPHEN COLBERT: You've got this new communication strategy or, at least, new for a Democrat. It's called, I hope I'm pronouncing this correctly, "Being interesting" and when did it occur to you? When did the lightning bulb go over your head that perhaps you should do something that was kind of funny and make a point? Where did this strategy come from? Because let's give the people an idea.

GAVIN NEWSOM: Yeah, what do we get?

COLBERT: Here's an example of you aping someone's style. I'm not going to say who and it says "Wow, what an honor, on Mount Rushmore. Thank you." “Wow, an honor, thank you.” Okay, "Wow, an honor, thank you." Nobel Peace Prize. So—

NEWSOM: Feels good.

COLBERT: It does.

NEWSOM: It does. It feels good.

COLBERT: Congratulations.

NEWSOM: By the way, thank you for acknowledging. Yes, congratulations.

COLBERT: Well, you got. You earned that. You earned that, sure.

[crosstalk]

NEWSOM: Well, look. The strategy is inspiration-desperation, right, the two driving forces in life, and everything we were trying to do to break through wasn't working anymore, and so we decided to do something, you're right, to your point, novel, called humor. And, I've got to say, oftentimes Democrats, we're a little, you know, just,  we don't—we're not as humorous as we should be.

COLBERT: A little stiff. 

NEWSOM: A little stiff and so we thought we'd have some fun with it, but I never imagined it would break through like it has and get under the skin of the president of the United States and some of my friends. 

COLBERT: Some of your friends? Who are these friends?

NEWSOM: Some of my friends.

COLBERT: Who are these friends?

NEWSOM: Some off—Well. Some of my friends on, you know, Pravda, Fox.

COLBERT: Matter of fact, here we are, this is, this is, I think this is Dana Perino. She is not too thrilled with you.

NEWSOM: No.

DANA PERINO: Gavin Newsom, why am I giving him advice, you have to stop it with the Twitter thing. I don't know where his wife is. If I were his wife, I would say you are making a fool of yourself. Stop it.

COLBERT: She has to have some sense. There’s no way—she's a very smart person. Just have some sense of the irony of that critique.

NEWSOM: Yeah, but it wasn't even Dana. It was Hannity, all these guys: outrage, offended, disgusted because we put a mirror up to Trump and the absurdity of what's going on in this country, the absurdity of Donald Trump, the absurdity of these networks playing into it.

…

COLBERT: Steve Bannon has said, he's admired what’s happened for you and your approval rating has gone up 18 percent since the summer. Nicely done. Now, before I get to Bannon, I'm just curious. We enjoy this. Why do you think it so deeply resonates with people? Why do you think this has made such a difference? I mean, you're glad it is, but what do you think people are responding to?

NEWSOM: Just the fight. I think, you know, it's a tough time.

COLBERT: I'm aware.

NEWSOM: A lot of anxiety, a lot of stress. A lot of folks that honestly just don't know if we’re going to get our country back and I get it. This guy is flooding the zone, he's dominating the narratives. Facts don't seem to matter and Democrats frankly have had a difficult time pushing back and Democrats feel at times, there’s, sort of, this weakness that dominates our brand and our party and I think what people appreciate is that we are willing to fight and not only fight symbolically by having a little bit of fun, but fight substantively. We have 41 lawsuits against this son of a bitch. We’re pushing back and we’re winning. 

And, you know, we are filling a void on a lot of issues. I’m out here for climate week. California is the tent pole in terms of climate policy in this country as he walks away from Paris. He walks away from leadership, moral authority, around the rest of the world. California is trying to assert itself. On health policy, same thing. We created this West Coast Collaborative. We are not going to listen to this guy, not going to listen to him try to pronounce acetaminophen and we’re not going to sit there, listen to all that. No one trusts the guy.

…

COLBERT: What did you get from those conversations? Because sometimes some people come on podcasts or even television shows and aren't honest representatives of their ideas. I’m curious what you got from those conversations?

NEWSOM: I got a lot of grief, I got a lot of criticism for quote, unquote, platforming people we disagree with, but look, it’s not complicated: divorce is not an option. I mean, at the end of the day we got to figure out a way to live together and advance together across our differences and there is something. Look, success leaves clues. They were successful in the last election. People need to understand what motivates them, how they keep winning in the context of how they keep organizing and building a coalition particularly young men, Charlie Kirk, and what he was able to do. He was kind enough to fly out. We spent an hour and a half together. Interestingly we were staying connected up until just a few weeks ago until his tragic assassination. We had Steve Bannon on for the same reason. No exaggeration, about 40 minutes into the Bannon conversation, I thought I was—this not an indictment of Bernie Sanders, but it sounded more like Bernie Sanders in terms of the populist messaging and I never expected that. We didn't get into January 6th, all the things we disagree on. 

So, look, I think it's important to have those civil engagements. I think it's important to dialogue. It's important to learn from your opponents and it's important to reconcile your weaknesses. As the Democratic Party, we have a lot of work to do to make up for our failures in the past. We got crushed in this last election and now we're in a position where we are struggling to communicate. We're struggling to win back now the majority and House of Representatives and that's a big part of what I'm doing not just today in terms of the work out here, raising money, but also raising awareness around how Donald Trump is trying to rig the midterm elections and how I fear that we will not have an election in 2028. I really mean that in the core of my soul. Unless we wake up to the code red, what's happening in this country, and we wake up soberly to how serious this moment is. 

…

COLBERT: I wanted to ask you about Prop 50 vote before I do that, you raise a bigger question about, like, who will win in the midterms to the idea that perhaps we won't have free and fair and open elections in 2026—

NEWSOM: We will have Putin-type elections.

COLBERT: How would you imagine, where do you see the, sort of, the bread crumbs to that right now?

NEWSOM: Well, I mean—

COLBERT: It’s the ultimate fear: is that you no longer—you no longer have your democracy to be able to make change peacefully.

NEWSOM: He knows he's going to lose the midterm elections. He's underwater and he’s weak in every category. He’s—Donald Trump is weakness masquerading as strength. He is weak in every key category. That's a fact and I think it's an important fact. He knows that. And that's why he dialed, not for votes, but he dialed for seats. He said he is quote, unquote, entitled to five seats. Called Greg Abbott, who is totally supine, said "Yes, sir, and" gave him the five seats in Texas to change the maps. He did the same thing in Indiana, Missouri, he’s doing the same thing in Florida, likely Ohio, and we’ll see what happens in Utah. 

And Democrats, we were going to, you know, we’re going hold hands, talk about the way the world should be, say it's just so unfair, maybe write an op-ed. Meanwhile, this guy's consolidating power and so for us, we decided to push back and fight back but it's not just that. 

That's the tip of the iceberg, rigging the midterm elections because he knows otherwise he'll lose. When we kicked off the campaign, and this is important for people to understand, when we kicked it off at the Democracy Center in Los Angeles, he sent out ICE and Border Patrol to intimidate folks from walking in to our event, he ended up arresting this poor soul that was just trying to sell strawberries as collateral damage to intimidate us. 

That is a preview, Stephen, of things to come and voting booths and polling places across this country. He federalized 4,000 National Guard in my state. He still has hundreds of federalized National Guards He sent the United States Marines, not overseas, but to an American city, 700 active-duty Marines. 

He sent the military to American cities to police American citizens and the ICE issue is alarming beyond words. It's the largest private domestic army of its type, police force anywhere in the world. He’ll have 30,000 people that increasingly appear to be swearing an oath of office to him, not the constitution of the United States.

Again, wake up to what’s going on in this country.