Since the gaffe, Bachmann has admitted that she misspoke, but Colbert takes issue with her concession. “What on earth are you apologizing for? All you said is that you have the same spirit as John Wayne Gacy, and I think there is something to that.” Colbert said. “Because like Gacy, people might think you’re a clown. But if they dig a little deeper, they’ll find you are deadly serious.”

At first, Colbert seemed skeptical of Nugent’s choice of medium for the editorial, doubting whether the ailing newspaper industry could actually “jolt our youth awake.”