By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Stephen Colbert's grin looked downright predatory Monday night as he lit into potential U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. for his changing stance on issues ranging from abortion rights to gay marriage, as well as Ford's relatively recent move to the state of New York.
"Evidently, six minutes at my interview table counts as New York state residency," Colbert joked as he kicked off his interview on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” with the former Tennessee congressman, who has been a state resident for just over a year and is considering a run against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Ford’s “evolving” stance on issues of supreme importance to the New York state electorate, like marriage equality and abortion rights, has drawn the ire of politicians and advocacy groups alike, and Colbert did not shy away from the obvious question.
“You appear to have been willing to change some of your positions to appeal to a New York audience — how do you respond to that compliment, sir?” Colbert asked, drawing a laugh from Ford before he answered.
"I'm pro-choice, I’ve always been pro-choice," Ford responded, reiterating previous claims that every time he had asserted that he was "pro-life," he was just expressing that he was in favor of good things for all people — it had nothing to do with his stance on abortion.
Ford also said that while he had been against gay marriage in the past — he voted twice for a constitutional amendment to ban it — he has changed his mind on the issue.
Colbert finished the interview by praising Ford for his obfuscation of the issues, saying he was running such a campaign in the media capital of the world — the "gotcha town."
