The comedian opens a new episode of 'The Late Show' with a pre-recorded message expressing his grief and condemnation following the attempted assassination of former POTUS on Saturday.
- July 16, 2024
AceShowbiz - Stephen Colbert discussed the attempted assassination of former POTUS Donald Trump in a new episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". In a pre-recorded message in the Monday, July 15 episode, the talk show host expressed his grief and condemnation following the Saturday incident.
"The United States came close to a great tragedy on Saturday when at a political rally down in Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old gunman shot and nearly killed a former president and the man who today became the 2024 Republican nominee," Colbert stated.
He expressed immediate horror, relief that Trump survived, and "frankly, grief for my beautiful country." Colbert noted the death of a rally attendee and reflected on previous instances of political violence in the U.S., including the assassination of Bobby Kennedy.
"Whether the result of extremist politics or mental illness, that violence is with us still," he said, citing incidents such as the shooting of Steve Scalise, the plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer, and the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Colbert addressed the complex motivations of the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who reportedly donated to both Democratic and Republican groups in recent years.
"We may never understand his motivation, nor is that necessarily our job," he said. "Our job as American citizens is to reject violence and violent rhetoric in this time of crisis."
He argued that violence is both evil and useless, especially in a democracy where differences should be resolved through dialogue.
Colbert acknowledged calls for unity in the aftermath of the attack but cautioned that conflicting political ideas would not magically disappear.
He promised that "The Late Show" would cover the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention closely, discussing the ideas and candidates involved.
"So this week, we're going to do our best to talk about those ideas, the people who represent those ideas, and many other things, with guests and who knows, if we're lucky, maybe some fart jokes," he concluded.
