Colbert mocks GOP support for Cruz: 'Endorsement means throwing up in your mouth a little bit'

The Republicans are going to field a presidential candidate, no matter what. Voters seem to want that to be Donald Trump, but the GOP prefers someone else -- even if that's Ted Cruz.

Stephen Colbert ridiculed the tepid support for Cruz, who is widely despised by fellow senators from his own party, as the Republican Party tries to rig up a contested convention -- where almost anything could happen.

Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), like many Republicans, wants to prevent Trump from gaining the presidential nomination, so he threw his support -- very unenthusiastically -- behind Cruz, saying he had no other choice with John Kasich so far behind.

"Yes, at this point there's no choice," Colbert said. "It's that kind of passion that inspired the new campaign slogan, 'Ted Cruz: Abandon all hope.'"

Risch admitted to CNN's Wolf Blitz that he had expressed support for Cruz, his GOP colleague, but he stopped short of calling that an endorsement.

"Endorsement means throwing up in your mouth a little bit, right?" Colbert said, mimicking reverse peristalsis. "That endorsement's going to stay with me for awhile."

Cruz has been gaining on Trump's delegate count, which could set the stage for a contested convention, where party bosses could decide the nominee through wheeling and dealing -- and even select a candidate who is not yet running.

"Believe it or not, there are some people who did not run this year," Colbert said. "Some names have already been floated, like Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney and Mitt Romney. I know I just said him, but people forget him so quickly."

Watch the entire segment posted online by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: