Stephen Colbert Hounds Paul Ryan Over Presidential Nomination

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan appeared on the The Late Show and tried to persuade Stephen Colbert that he does not want to be the GOP’s presidential nominee. But Colbert wasn’t buying it. This was only his most recent stop on a full-dress publicity tour to sell the idea that under no circumstances will he agree to have his name put in for nomination in Cleveland in July.

“Yes or no — would you accept the nomination?” Colbert asked Ryan. “No, Stephen,” Ryan replied. “I have said I do not want, nor would I accept, the Republican nomination.” “Got it,” Colbert said. “So … you’re considering the nomination?” “No, I’m not.” “OK. I’ll give you some time to mull this one over.” Wait for it — Colbert licked the tip of his pen and pretended to scribble something. “How about now?” “Still no.”

At this point, it was pretty clear that Ryan and Colbert were not actually participating in an interview. And so went on the game of who will crack in this sketch and finally admit to actually wanting to run for office. I mean, they were both really funny. All in all, not a bad talk-show debut for Ryan, who won over the audience by the end of the sketch. But for a man who claims he doesn’t want to be president, Paul Ryan is sure putting himself out there.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.

Watch Stephen Colbert show Hillary Clinton his best Bill Clinton impression:

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