CBS’s Stephen Colbert welcomed Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to the Thursday taping of The Late Show for a three-segment-long interview that included an attempt to push New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on the rest of the country by reducing his radical leftism to mere concerns about affordability.
Ever the New Yorker, Colbert had an analogy, “You campaigned for Mayor-elect Mamdani, and while New York has its own issues and concerns, and New York doesn’t necessarily vote the way the rest of the country votes, his message of affordability his message of the rights and dignity of working people, I think, is a very powerful one that, you know, it may open in New York, but like a Broadway show, it’s going to play very well in the national tour.”
He also added, “Some people say this is only for New York. I disagree, I think he’s identified something that, yes, is in New York with its diverse population, but everyone in America sees something in this for them. On both sides of the aisle, by the way, the complaints are similar.”
Colbert wanted to define Mamdani-ism as a focus on affordability and not any set of actual policies, such as his flat earth theory-like embrace of things like rent control. He also omitted that earlier in the week, Mamdani didn’t exactly allay concerns about his anti-Semitism when he both sides-ed an anti-Semitic mob outside a synagogue. According to Mamdani, the event—which simply promoted immigration to Israel—violated “international law,” which is not true, but even if it was, it would be irrelevant considering that the event would still be protected by the First Amendment.
For her part, Warren took the opportunity to further hype the man she campaigned for by also reducing him to a cliché about the cost of living:
Yeah, well this is the whole point. Remember, Donald Trump, when he ran, kept saying over and over and over that he would lower costs for American families on day one. Those were his words. On day one. So here we are now, ten months later, and the cost of groceries is up, the cost of utilities is up, the cost of housing is up, and the Republicans are literally pushing the cost of health care through the stratosphere. So, what are Democrats going to do? It’s what we’ve already seen in this most recent election. Zohran ran with a real focus making his city more affordable for working families. Michelle Wu ran on that and won by 49 points against a billionaire. Go Michelle. But notice, it’s already jumped the river. Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey ran on affordability. The two public utility commissioners down in Georgia. First Democrats to win statewide in like 111-ty years ran on affordability.
Literally no one is against improving the cost of living. What many people object to is an economically illiterate socialist who attacks his city’s Jewish population.
Here is a transcript for the November 20-taped show:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
11/21/2025
12:25 AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: You campaigned for Mayor-elect Mamdani.
ELIZABETH WARREN: I did.
COLBERT: And, while New York has its own issues and concerns, and New York doesn’t necessarily vote the way the rest of the country votes, his message of affordability—
WARREN: Yeah.
COLBERT: — his message of the rights and dignity of working people, I think, is a very powerful one that, you know, it may open in New York, but like a Broadway show, it’s going to play very well in the national tour. Some people say this is only for New York.
WARREN: Oh no.
COLBERT: I disagree, I think he’s identified something that, yes, is in New York with its diverse population, but everyone in America sees something in this for them.
WARREN: That’s right.
COLBERT: On both sides of the aisle, by the way, the complaints are similar.
WARREN: Yeah, well this is the whole point. Remember, Donald Trump, when he ran, kept saying over and over and over that he would lower costs for American families on day one. Those were his words. On day one. So here we are now, ten months later, and the cost of groceries is up, the cost of utilities is up, the cost of housing is up, and the Republicans are literally pushing the cost of health care through the stratosphere. So, what are Democrats going to do? It’s what we’ve already seen in this most recent election. Zohran ran with a real focus making his city more affordable for working families. Michelle Wu ran on that and won by 49 points against a billionaire. Go Michelle. But notice, it’s already jumped the river. Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey ran on affordability. The two public utility commissioners down in Georgia. First Democrats to win statewide in like 111-ty years ran on affordability.
