Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
Stephen Colbert opened Monday’s live broadcast of “The Late Show” with a pre-recorded opening segment (shot around 7 p.m. ET) in which he discussed the attempted assassination of Donald Trump last weekend, before going live with his monologue, in which he provided commentary on the first night of the Republican National Convention as previously scheduled.
“The United States came close to a great tragedy on Saturday when a 20-year-old gunman nearly killed a former president and the man who became the 2024 Republican nominee today at a political rally in Pennsylvania. My first reaction when I saw this unfold on Saturday was horror at what was unfolding, relief that Donald Trump had lived, and, frankly, sadness for my great country.”
Colbert noted that the attempt resulted in the death of a rally attendee. And he noted that, as he has after other shootings in the U.S., he decided to start the show with a somber opening behind the desk.
“Although I might as well start the show complaining on the floor, because how many times do we have to learn that violence has no place in our politics?” he said. “The whole point of a democracy is to work out our differences with, as the saying goes, ballots, not bullets.”
Colbert noted that after a young friend of his expressed disbelief that an assassination attempt could take place in the United States, he said, “I’m old enough that one of my earliest memories is sitting in a dark room with my sister, looking at my parents’ little black-and-white TV, and seeing Bobby Kennedy’s casket on that slow train from New York to Washington.”
He pointed out that “whether the result of extremist politics or mental illness,” violence is wrong on every side of the political spectrum — “from the shooting at a GOP baseball practice that seriously injured Steve Scalise, to the plot to kidnap and assassinate Governor Gretchen Whitmer, to the gavel attack that nearly killed Paul Pelosi, to the horrors of January 6 and this most recent attack.
“The man who fired the shots appeared to have conflicting or confusing motives, at least according to the current sharp divide between left and right,” he noted, noting that the shooter was “someone barely out of childhood” and who had reportedly donated to a Democratic group in 2021 and registered as a Republican that same year.
“So we may never understand his motivation. That’s not necessarily our job,” he said. “Our job as American citizens is to reject violence and violent rhetoric in this time of crisis, no matter how hard we want to fight for our ideas. And in that sense, violence is not only bad, it’s also futile.”
As Colbert added: “In the wake of this attack on Saturday, many Americans on both sides of the aisle — from President Biden to Chairman Johnson — are calling on all of us to change how we see each other, how we treat each other, how we talk to each other. And that may or may not happen. Those conflicting ideas remain the same. So this week, we’re going to do our best to have guests talk about those ideas, the people who represent those ideas, and a lot of other things, and who knows, if we’re lucky, maybe a few fart jokes.”
After the opening, Colbert returned with a full-blown monologue, taking advantage of the live nature of the episode to comment on the speeches, gaffes and awkward moments during the first night of the Republican Party convention.
Since it was a live show and there was a lot to discuss, Colbert continued with more monologues in the second act after his first intermission – starting with the announcement that “Pillsbury douche boy” J.D. Vance had been chosen as his nominee for vice president.
Colbert also referenced the “odorous nonsense” that came from the mouth of biased Florida federal judge Aileen Cannon when she dismissed the secret documents case against former President Donald Trump.
Monday night was the late-night hosts’ first chance to comment on the weekend’s events; on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” the host condemned the “horrific” assassination attempt on Trump on Saturday, explaining that “political violence in all its forms must be condemned.” The “Late Night” host also took a moment to condemn how certain right-wing political voices have responded to the attacks.
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will air live this week from the studio at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City from Monday, July 15 through Thursday, July 18. Guests on Monday’s show included former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and a performance by Bikini Kill.
On Tuesday, “The Late Show” will feature Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and singer Loudon Wainwright III, while Wednesday’s episode features actor Glen Powell and host/radio personality Charlamagne Tha God. The week concludes on Thursday with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a performance by OneRepublic.
Next month, Colbert will broadcast from Chicago’s Auditorium Theater during the week of the Democratic National Convention, which takes place in Chicago from Monday, August 19, through Thursday, August 22.