Stephen Colbert faced his audience on Wednesday night in the wake of Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election. And while the Late Show host tried to find the bright side, he couldn't help but lament a future led by a "monstrous child."
Colbert has spent nearly a decade railing against Trump and warning his audience what could happen if the ex-president returned to power. Now the late-night host's nightmare has come true.
"After a bizarre and viscous campaign fueled by a desperate need not to go to jail, Donald Trump has won the 2024 election," Colbert said. He sounded deflated but acknowledged the democratic process worked as it should.
The same process delivered Trump the White House in 2016 and in the process, pumped up the profile of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. However, the comedian isn't buying anyone claiming that a second Trump term is good for business.
Colbert admitted he doesn't care how much "material" Trump provides his show. "No one tells the guy who cleans the bathroom 'wow, you must love it when someone has explosive diarrhea, there's so much material for you to work with.'"
Stephen Colbert says we're about to 'plunge back into the Trump hole'
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will have plenty to mock, discuss, and satirize over the next four years. But Colbert clarified that he doesn't want to cover this material because of the people involved.
"The first time Donald Trump was elected, he started as a joke and ended as a tragedy," Colbert said, before admitting he doesn't know how things will turn out as Trump starts a second term as a tragedy.
"What we do know is that we're going to be governed by a monstrous child surrounded by cowards and grifters," Colbert snapped.
Colbert's only hope is that Trump and his administration is just as undisciplined and ineffective as they were the last time around. The comedian pointed to a Wall Street Journal article suggesting that Trump didn't have the attention span to follow through on the "authoritarian rule" predicted by Democrats.
Time will tell if that is the case when Trump takes office again. But for those looking for a sliver lining, at least Stephen Colbert will have more material (whether he likes it or not).