Stephen Colbert Questions Joe Biden Over String Of Recent Gaffes: ‘Are You Nuts?’

Stephen Colbert, the host of The Late Show and no stranger to getting political, interviewed 2020 front-runner and former vice president Joe Biden on his Wednesday night show. In the teaser of the interview posted to Twitter, Colbert asks Biden about his growing list of recent gaffes.

According to The Hill, Biden offered a battery of reasons as to why his gaffes aren’t really that big of a deal in his eyes. He told Colbert that all politicians commit such errors and pointed out that none of his gaffes, in his opinion, have been on important issues.

He also explained to Colbert that the “essence” of the stories he gaffes has been true.

“In the last few weeks you’ve confused New Hampshire for Vermont, said Bobby Kennedy and MLK were assassinated in the late 70s, assured us ‘I’m not going nuts,’ — follow up question, are you going nuts?” Colbert asked.

“Look the reason I came on the Jimmy Kimmel show is because I’m not,” Biden responded, drawing roaring laughter from the studio audience.

Biden told the host that he thought it was fair for reporters — and even voters — to talk about his slip-ups, but insisted that none of the gaffes he’s made so far were issue-based.

“I think it’s fair to go after a political figure for anything, okay. I mean we stand up, it comes with the territory, but here’s the deal any gaffes I have made, and I have made gaffes like every politician I know has, have been not about a substantive issue,” Biden said.

“You assured us, ‘I’m not going nuts,’?” Stephen Colbert said today on @colbertlateshow. “Follow up question: Are you going nuts?”

Joe Biden paused a beat and responded, “The reason I came on the Jimmy Kimmel show was …”https://t.co/Dnf4XEGWDZ

— Matt Viser (@mviser) September 5, 2019

Colbert specifically called out the former vice president on a recent gaffe that made headlines after The Washington Post fact-checked the 2020 candidate over a story he told about a trip he took to Afghanistan where he witnessed a U.S. troop refuse an award because one of his fellow troops died.

The story, which Biden told in New Hampshire at a town hall event, was riddled with erroneous information, according to The Hill. The Washington Post was able to determine that the former vice president used elements from three different military stories to make up the one he told the New Hampshire audience.

Biden told Colbert that the “essence” of that particular story was “absolutely” true.

Despite taking fierce criticism by the media for his recent tendency to slip up, Biden still maintains a commanding lead in nearly all national polls. The RealClearPolitics rolling average has Biden firmly in first place with 30.4 percent — a double digit lead over his nearest competitor, Sen. Elizabeth Warren.