If Stephen Colbert could trade bodies with anyone for 24 hours, he says he’d pick President Donald Trump — and use the time to step down.
During Slate’s Political Gabfest 20th anniversary show on Dec. 18, CBS News’ John Dickerson asked the 61-year-old late-night host a hypothetical: if he could spend a day in someone else’s body, who would it be?
Colbert didn’t hesitate.
“I mean, it’s such a predictable answer for me. But I would slip inside the skin of our president,” he said.
Asked why, Colbert gave a blunt answer: “I would resign.”
He then described how he’d do it — quickly, cleanly, and with maximum showmanship.
“I’ve anticipated this. No scandal, no confession, no Sturm und Drang,” Colbert said. “Just go, ‘It’s been great. I’m the best, ever. I’m gonna go out on top. I’ve done everything. I’m just gonna go.’ That’s it. It can be a glorious ending, just end it.”
After a beat, Colbert added a darker twist to the premise, wondering if the switch would be mutual.
“I have a harrowing follow-up question: Is he taking over my body for 24 hours?” Colbert joked, adding that he’d warn his wife, “Darling, go see your sister for a while.”
Colbert’s comments come amid his long-running back-and-forth with the president. Trump recently attacked Colbert on Truth Social, calling him a “pathetic trainwreck with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success.”
“Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings,” Trump wrote. “Stephen is running on hatred and fumes ~ A dead man walking! CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do!”
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly weighed in on Colbert — especially after the comedian announced in July that his show would end in May 2026 after 10 seasons.
News of the show’s planned finale arrived just days after Colbert criticized Paramount, CBS’ parent company, over its July 3 settlement with President Donald Trump for $16 million. The settlement followed a legal fight tied to allegations that journalists at 60 Minutes deceptively edited a 2024 interview with Trump’s election opponent, Kamala Harris.
Colbert also addressed another recurring question during the event: whether he’d ever run for president in 2028.
“Absolutely, I should not run for president,” he said.
He acknowledged why some fans float the idea, then leaned into a familiar political-style answer: “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.”
