Fact Check: Yes, Stephen Colbert once said quote about US being 'Christian nation that doesn't help the poor'
Talk show host Stephen Colbert once said, "If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition ... and then admit that we just don't want to do it."
Rating:
An alleged quote attributed to late night TV host Stephen Colbert circulated on social media in late July and early August 2025, purporting that the comedian made a cutting remark about the state of Christianity in the United States.
The quote has been shared on social media for years, as evidenced by a post on X (archived) from 2022.
In the wake of CBS announcing the end of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," however, users on social media started sharing the alleged quote once more on platforms like BlueSky (archived), Threads (archived) and Facebook (archived).
The alleged quote in question states:
If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition ... and then admit that we just don't want to do it.
Some users agreed with Colbert's alleged sentiment and shared the statement alongside an image of Colbert sitting at a desk, adding, "It's time to reiterate what the teachings of Jesus or prophets/revered enlightened leaders of any religion were actually saying to help humankind evolve. It's about love and inclusion. Not hate, violence, or power."
The quote above was correctly attributed to Colbert.
The comedian said it during a Christmas-themed episode of "The Colbert Report" that aired on Comedy Central on Dec. 16, 2010, with featured guests comedian Amy Sedaris and musician Paul Simon. The segment in which the quote appeared was titled, "Jesus was a Liberal Democrat."
It's worth noting that "The Colbert Report," which ran on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2014, featured Colbert playing a satirical characterization of himself as a conservative commentator.
However, we must also note that episodes of "The Colbert Report" are no longer available on any streaming services, and clips posted to YouTube are primarily limited to 2014, the show's final year before Colbert moved on to host "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on CBS.
Nonetheless, there is substantial reporting about the quote from the time it aired, as well as an audio clip of the moment on YouTube that was published on Sept. 21, 2011. As such, we are confident in attributing the quote in question to Colbert despite a lack of visual evidence online.
Business Insider reported on the segment at the time, citing it as the latest in an ongoing war of words between Colbert and (real) conservative pundit Bill O'Reilly over Jesus' teachings. The article cited a summary of an upcoming episode of O'Reilly's show that read, "Colbert … Jesus … and the poor. The late night comic is now a theologian — and attacks Bill in the process! But does he have his Biblical facts straight?"
A writer for State of Formation, an "online forum for emerging religious and ethical leaders," discussed the segment on Dec. 20, 2010:
It makes an argument that as both a religious and a political liberal I am all too happy to hear. It is Stephen Colbert — a person universally known and, among my generation in particular, almost universally esteemed and, yes, respected — calling out those who profess to be Christians yet espouse policies that further neglect or oppress those in the lowest income brackets. Beneath (and also because of) its satirical aim, this is a powerful argumentative blow to some on the religious and/or political Right.
Further, a writer for the alternative newspaper Portland Mercury discussed the segment the day after it aired and stated:
What really got me was a piece that brilliantly satirizes an issue near and dear to my heart: the inherent hypocrisy of Christianity in the West. Since this is Blogtown and not Obvious Theology 101 I know I don't have to spell this s*** out; we all know that the basic tenants of Christ's teachings (give away all your money, judge not lest ye be judged, divorced people are committing adultery, etc.) are ignored by pretty much everyone, especially those who claim to be Christians.
Finally, TV Tropes also listed the quote as Colbert's, though it denotes it as attributable to "the character" rather than "the person."
Snopes reached out to Colbert's representatives to see if they can provide the episode featuring the quote and will update this article if we hear back.
- YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyln-yReNv8. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
"Amy Sedaris/Paul Simon." The Colbert Report, directed by Paul B. Cummings, 16 Dec. 2010.
Bow, Dave. "Stephen Colbert Agrees: Jesus Is a Liberal Democrat." Portland Mercury, https://www.portlandmercury.com/politics/2010/12/17/3168876/stephen-colbert-agrees-jesus-is-a-liberal-democrat. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
Katovitch, Celie. "The H. Clearly Stands for Hussein": Jesus H. Christ, Theological Honesty, and Stephen Colbert. 20 Dec. 2010, https://stateofformation.org/2010/12/the-h-clearly-stands-for-hussein-jesus-h-christ-theological-honesty-and-stephen-colbert/.
"Stephen Colbert." TV Tropes, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Quotes/StephenColbert. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
"Stephen Colbert And Bill O'Reilly Are Fighting Over Whether Jesus Was A Liberal." Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-colbert-and-bill-oreilly-are-fighting-over-whether-jesus-was-a-liberal-2010-12. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
"Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' Is Canceled by CBS and Will End in May 2026." AP News, 17 Jul. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/stephen-colbert-late-show-cbs-end-8bad9f16f076df62c0ffc50e9c8adbab.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says major US banks 'discriminated against me' as White House preps debanking executive order
Debanking is back in the spotlight this week after President Trump said Tuesday that the country's two largest US banks, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC), denied him as a customer. "The banks discriminated against me very badly, and I was very good to the banks," Trump said on CNBC's "Squawk Box," adding that "they discriminate against many conservatives." For years, Republicans have claimed that US banks have denied accounts to certain customers for political reasons. Crypto companies have warned more recently that they weren't permitted to get banking services during the Biden era. "I had hundreds of millions. I had many, many accounts loaded up with cash. I was loaded up with cash, and they told me, 'I'm sorry, sir, we can't have you. You have 20 days to get out,'" Trump said of his experience losing bank accounts with JPMorgan Chase. The president said he then went to Bank of America "to deposit a billion dollars plus" and was similarly denied. "He said, 'We can't do it,'" Trump told "Squawk Box" while also referencing pressure on banks from Washington, D.C., regulators as a key reason for why he and others have been denied banking services. "I ended up going to small banks all over the place," Trump added. The president's comments came in response to a Wall Street Journal report late Monday stating that the White House is preparing to draft a related executive order around debanking that would fine banks found discriminating against customers on political grounds. Bank of America did not immediately offer a response to Trump's comments. "We don't close accounts for political reasons, and we agree with President Trump that regulatory change is desperately needed. We commend the White House for addressing this issue and look forward to working with them to get this right," a JPMorgan spokesperson said in emailed comments. Both of these giant lenders and their CEOs have denied debanking customers on political grounds. Learn more about high-yield savings accounts, money market accounts, and CD accounts. Trump first brought visibility to the debanking issue back in January when he confronted Bank of America's Brian Moynihan about it during a live Q&A at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives," Trump told Moynihan. The president also appeared to include JPMorgan Chase CEO Jame Dimon in his confrontation. "I don't know if the regulators mandated that because of Biden or what, but you and Jamie and everybody else, I hope you open your banks to conservatives, because what you're doing is wrong," Trump added. Two months later, the Trump Organization sued major credit card lender Capital One (COF) for allegedly debanking hundreds of its accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. Bank regulators have already eliminated one element in supervision that has been pointed to as a culprit of debunking, known as reputational risk. Critics said this element of supervision was previously too subjective, allowing regulators additional room to penalize lenders for taking on customers they deemed risky. "The heart of the problem is regulatory overreach and supervisory discretion," a spokesperson for the Bank Policy Institute, a D.C. banking industry advocacy group, said in an emailed statement. "The banking agencies have already taken steps to address issues like reputational risk, and we're hopeful that any forthcoming executive order will reinforce this progress by directing regulators to confront the flawed regulatory framework that gave rise to these concerns in the first place," BPI added. Each of the bosses for these big banks has addressed the issue by also pointing a finger at regulators. "We have not debanked anyone because of political or religious relationships, period," JPMorgan's Dimon said during a podcast interview earlier this year, in which he acknowledged that debanking happens. "The reality is that if they gave us clarity from the regulatory thing and avoid the second-guessing, that would be helpful," Bank of America's Moynihan said in a CBS interview on Sunday. David Hollerith is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto, and other areas in finance. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Sign in to access your portfolio
CBS News
15 minutes ago
- CBS News
House panel subpoenas Clintons and other ex-officials in Epstein probe, seeks files from DOJ
Washington — The House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas Tuesday to a slew of former attorneys general and FBI directors, as well as former President Bill Clinton, for testimony about the case involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The subpoenas seeking depositions from the former Justice Department officials were issued after Republicans and Democrats on a House Oversight subcommittee approved measures to authorize the demands last month as part of efforts by Congress to obtain more information about Epstein. House investigators also issued a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi for documents related to the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his associate who is serving a 20-year prison sentence. The committee is seeking testimony from Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as from officials spanning the past four presidential administrations: former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder, and former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller. Sessions and Barr led the Justice Department during President Trump's first term. Lawmakers are seeking information from the Clintons because of the former president's past ties to Epstein and Maxwell in the early 2000s. Letters to the officials from Kentucky Rep. James Comer, a Republican who leads the Oversight Committee, are all similar. The records from the Justice Department must be turned over by Aug. 19, according to the Oversight committee, and depositions are scheduled for throughout August, September and October. "While the Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell's cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government's enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell," Comer wrote, adding that the Oversight panel "may use the results of this investigation to inform legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations." Epstein was charged with federal sex trafficking crimes in 2019 and died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial. He had been investigated by federal authorities in Florida in the 2000s, though that ended in a federal non-prosecution agreement and a guilty plea on state prostitution charges in 2008. But Congress has renewed its focus on Epstein after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo last month that concluded Epstein did not have a "client list" of prominent figures and confirmed he died by suicide. The memo also found that there was no "credible evidence" that the disgraced financier blackmailed prominent people. The Justice Department and FBI said they did not plan to release any further information about Epstein's case. The findings rankled some of Mr. Trump's supporters, who are skeptical that there is nothing else regarding Epstein's case to make public. Amid the backlash, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell late last month for two days in Tallahassee, where she was serving her sentence before being moved to a minimum-security facility in Texas last week. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom and abuse underage girls. An appeal of her conviction is currently awaiting action from the Supreme Court. Blanche and Bondi have also asked federal judges in New York to unseal transcripts from the grand jury proceedings in Epstein and Maxwell's cases, though federal rules typically require matters before grand juries to be kept secret. Beyond the moves by the Justice Department, lawmakers have pushed for files related to Epstein to be released to the public. A clash of House members over the material led the House to scrap votes and leave Washington early for its monthlong summer recess. House Republicans put forth a non-binding resolution last month to make the files from the federal probe into Epstein public, but Speaker Mike Johnson said the lower chamber would not vote on it until September, when lawmakers return from their break.
CBS News
15 minutes ago
- CBS News
Statue of Confederate General Albert Pike, toppled by protesters in 2020, is being reinstalled in Washington, D.C.
A bronze statue of a Confederate general that was toppled by protesters five years ago will be restored and reinstalled in Washington, D.C., the National Park Service said. The restoration of the statue of Confederate Brigadier General Albert Pike "aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law as well as recent executive orders to beautify the nation's capital and re-instate pre-existing statues," the park service said in a news release Monday. The agency, which shared a photo showing restoration work on the statue, said it is aiming to have the monument reinstalled by October. The statue had stood in Judiciary Square — several blocks from the White House — since 1901. It was Washington, D.C.'s only outdoor statue of a Confederate general when protesters tore it down and set it on fire in June 2020, CBS affiliate WUSA reported. That year, protesters across the country called for the removal of Confederate statues and symbols amid wider calls for racial justice after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. President Trump, who was serving his first term at the time, had expressed opposition to removing them, and called for the protesters in the Albert Pike statue case to be arrested immediately. The Council of D.C., a local governing body for the district, said it had been calling for the removal of the statue for years and that it unanimously renewed its call to Congress to remove it in 2017. The National Park Service said on Monday that the statue has been in "secure storage" since it was removed in 2020 and that the agency's Historic Preservation Training Center is restoring it. "Originally authorized by Congress in 1898 and dedicated in 1901, the statue honors Pike's leadership in Freemasonry, including his 32 years as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient Rite of Scottish Freemasonry," the park service said. Work to repair the statue's base at the site where it stood will start "shortly," it said. D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has advocated for the statue to be displayed in a museum but not on public land. In a statement to WUSA on Monday, Norton condemned the decision to reinstall the statue, noting that "Pike served dishonorably" and he "resigned in disgrace after committing a war crime and dishonoring even his own Confederate military service." "A statue honoring a racist and a traitor has no place on the streets of D.C.," Norton said.
