Colbert: McCarthy uses ‘English-like words’

Late-night comedian Stephen Colbert mocked House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the front-runner to become the next Speaker, saying he uses “strong, English-like words” when speaking.

“McCarthy has plenty of support from Congress, so he’s got the House part down,” Colbert said late Wednesday, referring to McCarthy’s bid to replace Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) at month’s end.

“Apparently, he’s still working on the Speaker,” he continued while hosting “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

“Now, some people say McCarthy’s trouble in expressing his vision of leadership — or anything else — makes him disqualified to be the Speaker of the House,” Colbert added.

“Of the Speaker and the House, Kevin McCarthy wants to rise to that opportunity and let every mouth speech as one,” he said, intentionally confusing his words as a way of spoofing McCarthy’s public addresses.

Colbert highlighted a number of verbal gaffes McCarthy has made during his current role.

“Wow, that guy is well traveled,” he said after playing a clip of McCarthy listing nations he has visited overseas.

“Hopefully his experience in Hungria will allow him to finally broker a peace treaty with Narnia,” Colbert added, lampooning McCarthy’s pronunciation of “Hungary.”

“[He is] like your friend’s dad forcing you to go to church with them,” he added of McCarthy’s media persona. “[He speaks] strong, English-like words.”

Colbert’s segment comes as the House GOP readies a vote on Boehner’s successor.

McCarthy faces staunch challenges from Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Daniel Webster (R-Fla.)

He also faces skepticism from conservatives that he will represent their interests better than Boehner, should he take over the Ohio lawmaker’s role.

—Colbert’s comments about McCarthy start at the 3:45 mark in the video above.