All of us must be loud and clear
Colbert to America: "I have never loved my country more desperately"
As The Late Show host Stephen Colbert put it during his monologue on Sept. 11, “It should go without saying that violence is never the answer to political disagreement, but I think these days it should be said as often as possible.”
Welcome to this week’s issue of Whig. Read to the end for Colbert’s message for America. — Hunter Schwarz
All of us must be loud and clear:
There was widespread, bipartisan condemnation of Charlie Kirk’s assassination in Utah last week from lawmakers of both parties and every living former president. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tied the condemnation of political violence to the broader defense of democracy.
“This is a difficult and contentious moment in American history,” Sanders said in a video. “Democracy in our country and throughout the world is under attack, and there is a lot of reasons for that which need serious discussion. But bottom line: if we honestly believe in democracy, if we believe in freedom, all of us must be loud and clear: political violence, regardless of ideology, is not the answer and must be condemned.”
Cox calls for peace:
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) is doing his part to lower the temperature, and the White House noticed. Cox said he did the Sunday show circuit at their request. “I don’t do much national press anymore,” Cox said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “The White House asked us to come on and to talk about this because they’re worried about the escalation that’s happening out there.”
Cox told ABC’s The Week “the body count is piling up” from political violence, and he noted “how quickly we move on” in reference to the murder of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband Mark Hortman in June. “If we don’t keep talking, that’s when the violence starts,” Cox told CNN’s State of the Union. “Look, there are conflict entrepreneurs out there who benefit from radicalizing us and I’m not one of those.”
Trump says he “couldn’t care less” about political divide:
In an interview Friday with Fox & Friends, host Ainsley Earhardt asked President Donald Trump how to “fix this country” and “come back together,” and spoiler alert: he didn’t have a good answer.
“I’ll tell you something that’s going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less,” Trump said. “The radicals on the left are the problem,” and he downplayed “radicals on the right” as people who “don’t want to see crime.”
As Cox said on CNN Sunday, “If we’re waiting for a president or a governor to get us out of this dark chapter, then it will never happen.” Be the change you want to see. Lift where you stand.
Most Americans don’t agree with Trump’s expansion of presidential power:
Majorities of U.S. adults disagree with Trump’s moves to expand presidential power, according to a Rueters/Ipsos poll conducted from Sept. 5 to 9.
The poll found 62% don’t believe the president should have the power to control police in their city or town, 59% don’t believe the president should control museums and theaters, and 57% don’t believe the president should set interest rates and direct companies where to manufacture goods, or control police in larges cities, or rule without interference from courts and Congress.
“President Trump has not convinced most Americans that there is an emergency in this country that requires greatly expanded presidential power to address,” Boston College professor David Hopkins told Reuters.
Sotomayor speaks on getting along with her colleagues:
In an interview with NBC News Monday, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the greatest lesson she learned from her mom is “if you don’t like what someone is doing, look for the best in them. Don’t concentrate on what you don’t like, concentrate on what you do like and you will find that most people have good hearts.”
Sotomayor, who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by former President Barack Obama in 2009, said “I’m in space where people disagree all the time,” and she said she has to “work with eight colleagues, a lot of whom I don’t agree with, and I have to maintain a professional relationship and a friendship.”
“They believe they’re doing the right thing. I don’t think so, I tell the world they’re wrong, but I understand they’re doing it for values that are important to them,” she said.
🎬 No. 1 movie: Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle had a $70 million opening, making it the best ever opening for an anime movie.
💿 No. 1 album: The Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack rises 2-1 on the Billboard 200 album chart after seven nonconsecutive weeks at No. 2, thanks to a deluxe issue and wide release of the physical CD.
🎵 No. 1 song: “Golden” by Huntr/X marks its fifth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track, from Kpop Demon Hunters, now sets the record for longest-leading hit by an animated act.
Artists pays tribute to Kirk:
In his show in Edmonton, Canada, on Friday, Morgan Wallen dedicated his song “I’m a Little Crazy” to Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk and said he and his family were sending prayers her way. “I’m not gonna say a whole bunch on this, but this song right here has been hitting me harder in the last couple days,” the country singer said.
Other musicians shared their condolences on social media, including Kane Brown, Jason Aldean, and Lauren Alaina. Sheryl Crow wrote on Instagram, “I have empathy for Charlie Kirk and his wife and two children. I will never not feel empathy for anyone who is struck down for speaking up for what they believe. I feel empathy for all of us. We have been made to believe we are enemies by the very people who hold power.”
Bad Bunny reveals why he’s skipping the U.S. mainland on his world tour:
Bad Bunny said the reason his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour doesn’t have any stops on the U.S. mainland is because of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
The rapper told i-D, “There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate.” He said, “There was the issue of, like, f***ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
Bad Bunny just wrapped a 30-date residency in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, but announced Monday he’s adding one final show on the island on Sept. 20 that will be streamed on Amazon Music.
Why does the new Demi song slay so hard?:
Listen, I’m no Lovatic, but Demi Lovato’s new song “Here All Night” is giving main girl pop energy, no? The track is produced by Zhone with a music video from Hannah Lux Davis. “From the moment we finished the song, I knew it needed to be a dance video,” Lovato said. “It’s about dancing through heartbreak.”
The Vatican had its first pop concert:
The Vatican hosted “Grace For The World” over the weekend, a summit about “human fraternity” of Nobel prize winners that ended with a first-of-its-kind concert in St. Peter’s Square. Pharrell Williams, Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Hudson, Jelly Roll, John Legend, Karol G, and the Choir of the Diocese of Rome performed.
will.i.am didn’t perform, but he was there (he spoke during a discussion on artificial intelligence), and he said he’s a fan of the new pope. “The fact that we have a pope from Chicago gives me hope,” the “Scream & Shout” producer said, calling it “beautiful” because of “all the things that are happening in America.”
God bless America. Stay strong, be brave:
The Late Show won Outstanding Talk Series at the Emmys Sunday, and Colbert dedicated it to his mom and dad, his wife Evie Colbert’s mom and dad, and Amy Cole, his assistant who died in 2024.
In his acceptance speech, Colbert said he wanted to do a late-night comedy show about love, but he realized “in some ways we were doing a late-night comedy show about loss, and that’s related to love because sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it.”
“I have never loved my country more desperately,” Colbert said. “God bless America. Stay strong, be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor.”
Thanks for reading! See you next week. ⭐