“No one gets into this business because everything in their life was going well, so they were built for rough roads.”
Stephen Colbert gave a special address to his audience on Wednesday after the former president Donald Trumps victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in The 2024 presidential election.
In one clamp posted to the official Late Show with Stephen Colbert Instagram account ahead of Wednesday’s episode, the longtime late-night host looked directly at the camera and opened, “Hi there. How are you? If you watch this show regularly, I’m guessing you’re not doing well. Yeah. , neither am I.”
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Stephen Colbert 2023
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He continued, “You know, today some people said to me, ‘Sorry you have to do a show tonight.’ Which is nice of them to say, but I don’t need to put on a show, me get to put on a show tonight.”
The late-night host elaborated that he was grateful to be with “all these talented people, these people, the people you’ll never see in the (Ed Sullivan Theater) audience, with you at home.” He explained, “Especially at such here occasions, what would we rather be? So thank you for being here.”
Colbert assured viewers that he still planned to put on a comedy show despite the election results that caused him to miss out. “There will be jokes, because that’s what we do,” he said. “And I’ll let you in on a little secret. No one gets into this business because everything in their life was going well, so they were built for rough roads. Are you ready?”
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Colbert joked about having a regular cold open prepared, as if he wasn’t just immersing viewers in an ice bath of a cold open. Clip of newscaster standing for possible re-election of Trump fades to the words “and now the world is reacting to America’s decision.” A host of parodic international “responses” followed, from a Canadian hockey player hitting the goal with his stick, to Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter (representing England) saying: “I’ll be in my bedroom, not making any noise and pretending I make it “t exist”, to a group of Russian soldiers dancing.
The Late Show is not strictly a political program, but Colbert has deep roots in political television. He was employed as a correspondent for The Daily Show 1997 when it was still hosting Craig Kilborn. After Jon Stewart took over in 1999 and ramped up the political invective, Colbert really began to shine, developing a character that satirized the era’s Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck types.
The success of the Colbert character earned him his own political talk show in 2005. He remained in character on The Colbert Report throughout its nine-year term. 2016, two years after The Colbert Report went off the air, Colbert decreed that the high-intensity, ignorant and confrontational sycophant character “will never be seen again.”
He told Entertainment Weekly in June that he first knew pushed to “reinvent” the late-night format when he succeeded David Letterman on The Late Show 2015, but soon fell into the well-established groove. “I was determined not to do a monologue… I thought, ‘I’m not a stand-up.’ I’m an actor.’ And then I fell in love with the monologue. You just have to relax, have a good time and follow your instincts about the stories you’re interested in,” he said.
IN another preview video from tonight Late show episode, Colbert addressed the studio audience, rather than the camera, with ribaldry. “Well f—. It happened. Again. After a bizarre and vicious campaign fueled by a desperate need to stay out of jail, Donald Trump has won the 2024 election.”
He confirmed that “the deep shock and sense of loss is immense”, but encouraged his audience to “look on the bright side – at least there will be a peaceful transfer of power! Mike Penceolly olly oxen free!” he shouted, a reference to the January 6, 2021 attempted coup and former Vice President Pence’s refusal to accede to Trump’s treasonous demands.
He shared that “as a late-night host, people will often say to me, ‘Come on, part of you has to want Trump to win because he gives you so much material to work with.’” But said it wasn’t case and explained, “Nobody says to the guy cleaning the bathroom, ‘Wow, you gotta love it when someone has explosive diarrhea, there’s so much material for you to work with!’
For those eager to walk the tough road ahead of Colbert, The Late Show airs weekday evenings at 11:35 PM ET/PT on CBS and Paramount Plus.
