Colbert accuses Tavis Smiley and Cornel West of class warfare

Thursday night's edition of "The Colbert Report" featured guests Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, who were promoting their book, The Rich and the Rest of Us. Conservative firebrand Colbert took exception right away with the title of the book, accusing the authors of stoking the fires of class warfare.

West responded that he and his coauthor will always champion the rights and dignity of poor people, that it makes no sense for the wealthiest nation in the history of the world to be raising 22 percent of its children in poverty.

Smiley pointed out that 150 million Americans (approximately one in every two) are living at or near poverty level. He quips that rather than feeling that wealth has "trickled down" in the U.S., most Americans feel "tinkled on."

Watch the interview, embedded via Comedy Central, below: