Stephen Colbert pops champagne to celebrate Biden’s win
By Matt Moore
Stephen Colbert says it feels like America is great again after Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump
If you could only hear the reaction to the 2020 presidential election from one late night television host, Stephen Colbert would be the pick. The Late Show host celebrated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ victory while also acknowledging we have a long way to go.
Colbert never expected Donald Trump to become the 45th president. And then he never expected President Trump to make it through four years. Impeachment or his own self-destruction seemed inevitable. But in the end, it was former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris that ended the Trump administration.
It has been a rollercoaster four years for Colbert and that was reflected in his election week coverage. The comedian started off by saying he felt a sense of calmness going into the election. His mood changed to something more somber, becoming emotional as he warned against President Trump’s attack on the election’s integrity.
Those ups and downs culminated in a celebration last night on The Late Show. After sharing his thoughts on Twitter over the weekend, Colbert was back in front of the camera where he popped champagne and put things in perspective during his monologue.
Stephen Colbert summed up his emotions as happy, ecstatic, tired, and a little concerned. It’s probably accurate to say that millions of other Americans feel the same way as the Late Show host.
His monologue made a point to highlight the historic nomination of Sen. Kamala Harris as well as President-elect Biden directly addressing President Trump’s supporters. It was the first time in years Colbert has seen what he calls “presidential behavior.”
And while Colbert was eager to share images of celebrations in New York, Los Angeles, and around the world, he knows that the election didn’t fix all of America’s problems. As he put it “our long national nightmare is different.”
The number one problem remains the novel coronavirus pandemic. The number of hospitalizations and confirmed cases continue to set records as we head towards the winter months. Understandably, so much attention has been on the election and its aftermath. But Stephen Colbert’s monologue warned about taking our collective eye off the ball.
Stephen Colbert also celebrated Donald Trump facing defeat
It’s clear that Stephen Colbert breathed a sigh of relief after the election. His monologue on Monday night sounded like a man who finally got a weight off his shoulder. And while there are still a few months left in the Trump presidency, Colbert started to symbolically pack up the president’s stuff.
President Trump has yet to conceded and appears intent on keeping his power as long as possible. It’s something that some people predicted but has still been jarring to see play out in reality. Colbert does his best to take the sting out of it by mocking President Trump for allegedly being holed up in the White House surrounded by fast food.
Colbert was especially amused to see that President Trump’s last-ditch effort to reverse the election hinges on Rudy Giuliani. If the president’s personal lawyer couldn’t tell the difference between the Four Seasons Hotel and Four Seasons Total Landscaping, Colbert isn’t too worried about any massive conspiracy being uncovered.
The monologue finished with fewer jokes and more of Colbert’s sincere reflection on the election and the past four years. Going forward, fans can expect The Late Show to not talk about Donald Trump or Joe Biden for that matter. At least not every day as Colbert admitted to the stranglehold President Trump has had on his and the country’s attention. But the comedian sees a brighter future ahead where facts are facts and there is more to life than worrying about what’s happening at the White House.
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