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Is a presidential run in Stephen Colbert’s future?
The Late Show host, 61, discussed the possibility during an appearance at Slate’s Political Gabfest event on Dec. 18. It was a frequently asked question from listeners, and when the event hosts — John Dickerson, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz — relayed it to Colbert, he quipped, “Absolutely, I should not run for president.”
“I understand why you’d want me to,” he told the audience, before adopting a classic politician response: “I’d have to discuss with my faith leader and my family to see if, once my service on the Late Show ends in May, if I could be of some greater service to this nation that I love so much.”
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During the event, Colbert also had a moment with Dickerson, who departed CBS Evening News that same day.
When Plotz introduced Dickeron, 57, Colbert walked over to hug the news anchor, who was ready to embrace him. The late-night host then turned to the audience and put his middle finger in the air, a gesture that seemed to be aimed at CBS, which canceled The Late Show in July.
The decision to end The Late Show, which Colbert announced during a July taping, was described as “purely a financial decision” by CBS at the time. But the news came just days after Colbert called Paramount’s settlement and $16 million donation to President Donald Trump’s future presidential library a “big, fat bribe.”
In an interview with GQ published in November, Colbert alleged, “It is self-evident that that is damaging to the reputation of the network, the corporation and the news division, so it is unclear to me why anyone would do that other than to curry favor with a single individual.”
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In October, Colbert jokingly celebrated National Boss’ Day with a tribute to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. He called out his new boss and said, “Mr. Ellison, I love you.”
“That ought to buy us a couple more months,” Colbert quipped, referring to the show’s cancellation, which came just weeks before Ellison’s Skydance Media closed a roughly $8 billion merger with Paramount in August.
