Nancy Pelosi Interrupted by Pro-Palestinian Protesters on ‘The Late Show’

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Speaker, Interrupted

Broadcasting live from Night 2 of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention, Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night welcomed to “The Late Show” the former speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who, as has been widely reported, was a key player in efforts to nudge to nudge her longtime colleague and friend President Biden out of the 2024 presidential race.

As Pelosi began to answer — or, rather, deflect — a question about her private conversations with Biden, a protester in the audience began to shout about the ongoing war in Gaza. (See the clip below around the 3:40 mark.)

Colbert, after acknowledging the protester, returned to the subject after a commercial break (see around 1:35 in the clip below), while also mentioning the wider pro-Palestinian protests surrounding the convention and within the Democratic Party. He asked:

There is dissension over what is the proper use of American power — especially our projected power overseas, both firm and soft power — if the goal is the peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians: What role does the United States play?

After beginning by talking about Biden’s role, which Pelosi said he “played very well,” she went on to say that Israel had a right to defend itself and that “we want the hostages free.” She also said, “we don’t want children killed in Gaza, and so we have to come up with a solution.”

Pelosi argued that “war has no role in a civilized society” (just after the 3:40 mark), at which point the protesters interrupted again; paraphrasing their words, Colbert explained, “They’ve said that the United States should not have any role in supplying arms to kill the people of Gaza.” Watch the full exchange below.