Pro-Palestine protesters interrupted former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert twice Tuesday night. In response, Pelosi said that the U.S. is committed to Israel and that she hopes Hamas will accept a ceasefire agreement.
A protester began shouting a few minutes into the segment, which aired live from Chicago, as Pelosi said that Democrats are electing Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s not clear what the protester was saying.
“It’s going to be a great, great election,” Pelosi said over the protests. Pelosi is scheduled to speak Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention.
“There’s a protest going on right now,” Colbert said. “If you’ll have a seat, we have to go to the commercial break. When we come back, I will ask the next question I had on that subject, if you will listen, OK?”
“There is a political protester here,” Colbert said after the break. “People are protesting, even within the Democratic Party, there is dissension over what is the proper use of American power, especially protected power overseas, firm and soft power. If the goal is the peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians, what role does the United States play?”
Pelosi affirmed that the U.S. supports Israel.
“Yes, we’ve had a commitment to Israel. It’s been in our security interest to do so,” she said. “Israel was attacked by a terrorist organization. We want the hostages free, but we don’t want children killed in Gaza, and so we have to come up with a solution.”
Pelosi also said that she hopes Hamas will agree to a cease-fire.
“We just got word today, earlier today, that Israel had agreed to the cease-fire agreement,” she added. “We’re hoping that Hamas will too. But it takes me to the point of saying to you, war has no role in civilized society.”
In April, Pelosi signed a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding that they pause arms shipments to Israel.
A spokesperson for Pelosi told Rolling Stone at the time: “Speaker Pelosi knows President Biden’s support for Israel and empathy with the innocent civilians in Gaza, and she respects his judgment in how to proceed.”
On Tuesday, she continued: “We have to learn more about trust and peace and learning about each other rather than to have, like, resolved by war,” she said as a protester interrupted her once again.
Colbert said her response was “unsatisfying to some people.”
“They believe that the United States,” he said, as she tried to speak, “Hold on one second, would you like to respond to what they’re saying?”
According to Colbert, the protesters were saying that the U.S. should not supply arms to Israel that are then used to kill people in Gaza. When Colbert summarized the protests, the audience cheered.
Pelosi responded: “Hostages should be returned and the hostages will return. But the other part of it that has been so major for all of us for many years, is that there must be a two-state solution,” she said. The audience cheered.
“You cannot have peace unless you have a two-state Israel, a secure Jewish democratic state in the region, and the Palestinians having their own secure country there as well. Unless you have a two-state solution, you will not have a resolution of this.”
A protester yelled again. “Please don’t interrupt my guests,” Colbert said.
