Despite his ratings bump from incessant and tough mockery of the president, Stephen Colbert says he’s not glad Donald Trump won.
“We don’t approach Donald Trump as, like, ‘What a wonderful, cheesy gravy meal we have for you today.’”
The Washington Post reported other Colbert remarks:
“It’s all so petty and venal, and there’s nothing grand about it. It’s not Shakespearean at all. It’s ‘Veep.’ ”
Twenty minutes into his live Election Night show — where his crew had prepared skits celebrating a Hillary Clinton victory — Colbert recalled a private chat with a producer.
“No more jokes,” the producer said. “Stop with the jokes.”
He later told a colleague: “We’ve got our emotional skegs in the water now, and we can’t ever take them out again.”
“The Late Show” staff came to work the next day “weak-kneed and watery boweled, and really afraid for the country,” Colbert said.
He recalled telling his show runners: “Well, you’re forever wondering whether your work has purpose. Don’t worry anymore. It does. Because this is terrible. And your job is to make people feel better about it every day.”
After a half-hour of pep talk, Colbert said: “Then we went: OK, that’s it. Jokes.”