Jeb Bush wasn't the most obvious guest for Stephen Colbert's first night as host of the Late Show, but the former Florida governor tried to make the most of it. Colbert used his years of experience playing a conservative blowhard on Comedy Central to give the Republican presidential candidate some advice on how to connect with voters. Of course, this meant helping him sound a little bit more like current GOP front-runner and attention magnet Donald Trump.
In an online-only bonus clip, Colbert feeds Bush a "Trump" response to a question about the Iran nuclear deal, and Bush tries to sell it. What is that, exactly? "Build a wall between the United States and Iran, and make Mexico pay for it." And a pledge to turn the National Mall into a golf resort, of course.
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Even if Bush looks as if he still can't believe he's trying to beat a man who built a comfortable lead out of blatant racism, the bit does highlight just how outrageous and unrealistic some of Trump's policy proposals really are.
The next GOP debate is scheduled for September 16, so Bush has some work to do it he wants to win back some of the voters who don't think he's exciting enough. Colbert offered some help for that problem, too — although, after decades in politics, Bush should try to make himself appear more natural and excited to run for office again.
Tuesday television also had the goods for those who wanted to watch the leader of the United States eat a bear's leftovers. President Obama filmed an episode of Running Wild With Bear Grylls while he was in Alaska last week, and in one clip, Obama and Grylls discuss climate change and eat a partly devoured salmon.
The upcoming week is going to be full of politician TV appearances: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will also visit Colbert, Hillary Clinton filmed an episode of Ellen on Tuesday and will be on The Tonight Show later this week, as will Trump. That's only a tiny handful of the full roster of candidates, so get ready for a busy fall.