Stephen Colbert had a lot to say about President Donald Trump on Monday night, which led to an online backlash and even some called for CBS to fire the host.
On Wednesday night’s “Late Show,” Colbert responded to that backlash.
“Welcome to ‘The Late Show.’ I’m your host, Stephen Colbert. Still? I am still the host? I’m still the host!” Colbert said at the top of the show, according to a transcript provided to CNN by CBS.
Colbert continued, “Now, if you saw my monologue Monday, you know that I was a little upset at Donald Trump for insulting a friend of mine.”
That friend was Colbert’s CBS colleague John Dickerson, who Trump abruptly ended a recent interview with in the Oval Office.
“So at the end of that monologue I had a few choice insults for the president in return. I don’t regret that. He, I believe, can take care of himself. I have jokes; he has the launch codes. So, it’s a fair fight,” Colbert said.
One of those insults on Monday night’s show implied that Trump was taking part in a sexual act with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The insult was considered lewd and offensive by some.
Colbert finished his response by saying he “would change a few words that were cruder than they needed to be.”
But he added, “I’m not going to repeat the phrase, but I just want to say for the record, life is short, and anyone who expresses their love for another person, in their own way, is to me, an American hero. I think we can all agree on that. I hope even the president and I can agree on that. Nothing else. But, that.”
