In an appearance to promote his new book with co-author James Patterson, President Bill Clinton discussed his recent Today Show interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Stephen Colbert would not let him off the hook easy.

“In all due respect, sir,” Stephen says before chiding the former President of the Unites States of America. President Bill Clinton has been heavily criticized the past week for an interview question he answered regarding his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, and how much responsibility he carries within the recent context of the #MeToo movement. He got upset for being asked by Craig Melvin on The Today Show if the recent #MeToo movement has caused him to re-evaluate his actions twenty years ago. Clinton came back swinging, clearly not appreciating being asked. Stephen Colbert allowed Clinton to further explain himself – a ‘do over’ for his tone deaf answer to the original question.

Stephen Colbert has said some tone deaf things himself, and has been called out for it. You’ll be hard pressed to find a veteran public figure who doesn’t have something like that in public record. But Bill Clinton’s scandal is one of the biggest, still in recent memory. So Stephen, noticeably learning more and more every day and wanting to be a champion of progress, chastised Clinton as strongly as he could reasonably get away with. This has become the norm for Colbert – there aren’t any elephants in The Ed Sullivan Theater. Everything is addressed, regardless of his personal relationship with the guest. So yeah, they’re friends, or at least friendly, with each other, having known each other on a somewhat professional level for several years now. But there was no misstep here, both men talking to each other with the highest respect. And regardless of that, Stephen just wouldn’t let it slide by – that’s not the man he’s become.

Clinton’s answers could have been less disappointing. He’s a politician – he really knows how to pivot. He provided a passive admission of guilt for something, and turned the subject into politics. It’s a skillful maneuver, at least. He doesn’t seem to want to address that, while the scandal may be old news for him that he’s dealt with, the #MeToo movement is about much more than just recognizing past abuses of power. But it looks like the voters do know that much – and the Democratic party is distancing themselves from Clinton because of that, come 2018.

Oh, and that guy beside Clinton is author James Patterson. He didn’t get to say much during the first part of the interview, for obvious reasons. Recently, he and Clinton co-authored the book The President Is Missing, a mystery thriller about… well, a missing President. Why did they get together to do this?

Catch more of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airing weeknights at 11.35 et/pt on Global, and watch the latest episodes online here on GlobalTV.com!