Stephen Colbert Sends ‘Painful’ Personal Message to Biden

Stephen Colbert hasn’t exactly joined the voices calling for President Joe Biden to step down.

But the “Late Show” host, usually a staunch supporter of the president, came very close Monday night.

In his first broadcast since last month’s debate with Donald Trump that sparked fresh questions about Biden’s mental toughness and calls to abandon his reelection bid, Colbert noted that he interviewed the president at a campaign event just three months ago.

“He seemed old that night but convincing,” Colbert said. “But our politics have become so strange that I don’t know what the right thing to do here is.”

He noted that Biden’s attempts to reassure voters after the debate didn’t go over well, especially after a curious moment in an ABC interview where the president appeared to say he had done the “best” job he could do.

The White House requested a correction, and the transcript now shows the president saying something even more confusing: “I did the best job I could.”

“This correction makes even less sense,” Colbert said.

The “Late Show” host said Biden faces a battle between two virtues: the perseverance to stand up and fight, and the self-sacrifice to step down.

“Self-sacrifice requires a special kind of courage, and I believe Joe Biden has it,” Colbert said. “I believe he’s a good enough man, a good enough president, to put the needs of the country ahead of the needs of his ego. And as painful as it may be, it’s possible that handing over leadership to a younger generation is the right thing to do for the greater good. Or for the greater good.”

To learn more, read his Monday night monologue: