Stephen Colbert is hearing the question a lot: could he ever run for president?
During an appearance at Slate’s Political Gabfest event on Dec. 18, the 61-year-old late-night host addressed the fan curiosity head-on — and immediately shut it down with a punchline.
“Absolutely, I should not run for president,” Colbert said, drawing laughs from the crowd.
He followed with a more tongue-in-cheek version of a classic campaign-style answer, telling the audience he understood the appeal before adding that he’d need to “discuss with my faith leader and my family” whether, after his time hosting The Late Show ends in May, he could be “of some greater service to this nation that I love so much.”
Colbert also shared a moment at the event with John Dickerson, who stepped away from CBS Evening News the same day. When Dickerson was introduced, Colbert walked over for a hug — then turned to the audience and raised his middle finger, a gesture that appeared aimed at CBS, which canceled The Late Show in July.
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CBS has said the decision to end the program was “purely a financial decision.” The announcement, however, came shortly after Colbert criticized Paramount’s settlement and a $16 million donation tied to President Donald Trump’s future presidential library, which he described as a “big, fat bribe.”
In a November interview with GQ, Colbert argued that the move was damaging to the company’s reputation, adding that he couldn’t see a reason for it “other than to curry favor with a single individual.”
More recently, Colbert kept his response in familiar late-night form. In October, he marked National Boss’ Day by joking about Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, quipping, “Mr. Ellison, I love you.”
“That ought to buy us a couple more months,” he added, referencing the cancellation — which landed not long before Skydance Media completed a roughly $8 billion merger with Paramount in August.
