Stephen Colbert kicked off the new season of “The Late Show” on Tuesday with plenty of election-themed jokes. Setting the tone for his monologue, he noted that “it’s the day after Labor Day, which means we’re in the fall, which means fall or ‘democracy.’”
“Anyway, anyway, the colors are amazing.”
Using this to promote the election, Colbert joked that “the last two years of watching the Trump campaign have been nothing more than an appetizer… We’re nine weeks away from Election Day and everyone is looking for Kamala Harris.”
Colbert noted that in a recent USA Today-Suffolk poll, Harris polled 48% to Trump’s 44%, and said, “That’s good. 48%. That really restores my faith in about half of humanity.”
“Harris is especially popular among women, while Trump is ahead among men, with some calling it a boy-girl election. And remember, many Trump voters are not vaccinated against Coty,” Colbert said.
But then he poured cold water on the pre-election celebration. “Just because I’m leading nationally doesn’t mean Harris has it under control because of the electoral college,” he said. “This is a flawed system. The Founders, Slavery.”
“Thanks to the Electoral College, the election can only be narrowed down to seven states,” Colbert said. “Yes, it’s Michigan, Wisconsin, rejection, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.” A reference of course to the famous stages of grief and a return to his earlier joke “The collapse of democracy.”
There’s more, and you can watch the full monologue below:
