Hillary Clinton On 'The Late Show' Talks Food

Ever thought about going splitsies with a politician? That was the deal Stephen Colbert made after his lunch date with Hillary Clinton, which was aired on The Late Show Monday night. The joke was on her, though, because then Colbert dined and dashed — leaving Clinton with the bill for their sandwiches at the famous Carnegie Deli in New York City. In the pre-taped segment, which aired the night before the New York primary, Colbert interviewed the Democratic frontrunner, really getting to the meat of the issues.

The literal meat, at least. "I actually was hungry, so I thought I would stop by and spend my time with you," Clinton told Colbert. Perhaps that's why a big portion of their conversation centered around food. Very little was dedicated to policy, or why Clinton thinks she'd be a better choice than her primary challenger, Bernie Sanders. In fact, Sanders' name didn't come up once during the segment's five minutes. Instead, the cozy atmosphere and friendly vibe from Colbert led to the sandwiches on their plates getting more play than the race to the White House.

Those in Clinton's camp must see the appearance as a win. Food does seem to be the perfect topic for humanizing Clinton. Topics ranged from cheesecake and "sandwiches as big as a baby's head" to the worst thing Clinton has had to eat at a public event. "You don't have to say what state it was at," Colbert quipped, "because we'll know it's Iowa. They'll fry anything and put it on a stick."

Clinton (much to her credit — I'm from Iowa) explained how meat on a stick is actually great at places like the Iowa State Fair. "Can I just tell you this?" Clinton said. "It is true, when you're walking around the fair, you don't want to stop, sit down, and eat. If you get it on a stick, you can actually continue to walk and ..." Colbert then interrupts her: "You can enjoy the fair without being deprived of your meat." Not covered was whether she takes hot sauce in her bag to the fair, too (evidently, Clinton's been doing that since even before "Formation").

The only other candidate to come up was the current GOP frontrunner and possible November contender for Clinton, Donald Trump. Trump, Sanders, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich have all appeared on The Late Show in front of a live studio audience since the campaigning began. "Politics seem to be finding common ground,” Colbert said. “What do you have in common with your likely opponent Donald Trump, other than the fact you have beautiful daughters and you both were at his wedding?”

Clinton responded as the studio audience laughed: "Well, I’m not sure yet. I’m not sure what I have in common with him." Then she somewhat deftly, if obviously, pivoted around the issue: "However, when you are president and you’re working with the Congress, there are lots of opportunities to find common ground."

Then they go right back to food. Clinton passed up eating cheesecake, but it's not for her husband's sake. Bill's a vegan, easy fodder for Colbert: "I know your husband is a vegan. Is he going to give you any grief on this? Any friction for eating meat? ... He's not a smug vegan?" Clinton said not to worry; he's a very "open-minded vegan." It had more to do with embarrassment about eating in front of the press. Colbert said she needn't worry, he'd show her how to do it. Watch for yourself — maybe you'll want to eat cheesecake that way, too.

Images: CBS (4)