Stephen Colbert breaks down Mike Johnson’s belief that the Bible is fact

Stephen Colbert’s monologues continue to profile Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House. Monday night’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert focused on Johnson’s literal interpretations of the Bible and how they influenced his politics.

Previously, Colbert’s monologue attempted to answer the question “who is Mike Johnson?” after the Louisiana congressman became Speaker of the House. Colbert concluded that Johnson was another member of the MAGA crowd who still couldn’t admit that the 2020 election wasn’t stolen.

Now, Johnson is on something of a media tour. That means he’s answering questions about his political positions. According to the Speaker, anyone curious about his stance on anything should simply pick up the Bible.

Colbert immediately called out the hypocrisy of Johnson’s comments. The late-night TV host questioned if Johnson would tell the rich to give all their wealth to the poor before going on to cite more extreme examples of how society should operate according to the Old Testament.

Colbert’s monologue also called out Johnson’s past comments that misrepresented Thomas Jefferson’s views on the separation of church and state. “If you let church into your politics,” Colbert said, “you end up with guys like Mike Johnson representing the church to young people. And they’re all going to say ‘no thanks, Jesus. No matter how fun it is at youth pastor Ricky’s Leviticus karaoke night.”

Stephen Colbert calls out Mike Johnson saying Earth is only 6,000 years old

Stephen Colbert’s monologue then took a deep dive into Mike Johnson’s political history. The Late Show host reported that Johnson helped get funding for an organization that believes Earth is only 6,000 years old. The funding was for a Noah’s Ark amusement park where visitors could learn, among other things, that dinosaurs were on the Ark.

Colbert jokingly agreed with the premise, suggesting that early humans had dinosaurs as pets. He cited the Bible’s “Book of Hannah-Barbera” for proof. To close out his monologue, Colbert introduced a trailer for “Jurassic Ark” from “the mind of Mike Johnson.”

Colbert has never been shy about sharing how his Catholic faith informs how he lives his life. The Late Show has featured several interesting conversations on God, religion, and more. However, Colbert has never suggested that the Bible be taken literally or that it should influence our politics.

So while it is a bit surprising to hear Colbert mock someone for their religious beliefs, it isn’t coming from a place of malice. Instead, the comedian simply points out the hypocrisy he sees in people like Mike Johnson who want their religion in the entire country’s political system.