After more than a year of being trapped inside and being forced to take up bread-baking as a hobby, it’s hardly surprising that Americans are Hulk-smashing down their doors to spend time within mere inches of actual human beings again. But it’s worth remembering that less than half of all Americans have been fully vaccinated against COVID, which is why cases are on the rise again in all 50 states. On Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert pointed out that “all the anti-vax propaganda on Fox News is not helping” and took particular issue with Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade.
You may recall that, just a few weeks ago, Kilmeade bizarrely claimed that Mein Kampf was part of his high school’s reading curriculum. Which, if true, would make his stance on COVID vaccinations far less surprising. After declaring that it’s not the government’s job to protect its citizens from a deadly virus that has already taken the lives of more than 600,000 people in the U.S. alone, Kilmeade turned COVID into a matter of personal freedom… then compared it to cliff diving.
“If you didn’t get a vaccination, that’s your choice,” Kilmeade said. “And if you want to go cliff diving this weekend, you don’t have to check with me! It seems a little dangerous, but I’m not going to judge you.” When Kilmeade’s co-host Steve Doocy, who is rarely the voice of reason, helpfully pointed out that “99 percent of the people who are dying from COVID are unvaccinated,” Kilmeade — who is vaccinated, by the way — didn’t hesitate in again declaring that “that’s their choice.” None of this computed for Colbert:
“So the brown-haired guy believes that being unvaccinated and maskless is the same as being a thrill-seeker who jumps off of cliffs. Well, that analogy does work if you first strap that cliff jumper to a group of old people.”
You can watch the full clip above.