Stephen Colbert addresses Late Show viewers after Trump victory: 'I'm guessing you're not doing great'

Stephen Colbert made a special address to his audience on Wednesday after former President Donald Trump 's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election .

In a clip posted to the official Late Show With Stephen Colbert Instagram account ahead of Wednesday's episode, the long-running late night host looked direct to camera and opened, "Hey there. How're you doing? If you watch this show regularly, I'm guessing you're not doing great. Yeah, me neither."

He continued, "You know, today some people said to me, 'Sorry you have to do a show tonight.' Which is nice of them to say, but I don't have to do a show, I get to do a show tonight."

The late-night host elaborated that he was grateful to be with "all of these talented people, those people over here, the people that you'll never see with the audience in the [Ed Sullivan Theater], with you people at home." He explained, "Especially at times like this, what do we most want to be? Not alone. So thanks for being here."

Colbert assured viewers that he still planned to put on a comedy show despite the election outcome that had him down. "There'll be jokes, because that's what we do," he said. "And I'll let you in on a little secret. No one gets into this business because everything in their life worked out great, so were built for rough roads. You guys ready?"

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. free daily newsletter

Colbert joked about having a normal cold open prepared, as if he didn't just dunk viewers in an ice bath of a cold open. Clips of newscasters bracing for a possible Trump reelection fade to the words, "and now the world reacts to America's decision." A panoply of parodic international "responses" followed, from a Canadian hockey player smacking the goal with his stick, to Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter (representing England) saying, "I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I don't exist," to a group of Russian soldiers dancing.

The Late Show isn't a strictly political program, but Colbert has deep roots in political TV. He was hired as a correspondent for The Daily Show in 1997 when it was still hosted by Craig Kilborn . After Jon Stewart took over in 1999 and ramped up the political invective, Colbert really began to shine, developing a character satirizing the era's Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck types.

The success of the Colbert character landed him his own political talk show in 2005. He remained in character on The Colbert Report throughout its nine-year run. In 2016, two years after The Colbert Report went off the air, Colbert decreed that the high-intensity, ignorant and confrontational sycophant character "will never be seen again."

He told Entertainment Weekly in June that he at first felt pressured to "reinvent" the late night format when he succeeded David Letterman at The Late Show in 2015, but soon fell into the well-established groove. "I was determined to not do a monologue... I thought, 'I'm not a stand-up. I'm an actor.' And then I fell in love with the monologue. You just need to relax, have a good time, and follow your instincts in terms of the stories you're interested in," he said.

In another advance video from tonight's Late Show episode, Colbert addressed the studio audience, rather than the camera, with ribaldry. "Well, f-. It happened. Again. After a bizarre and vicious campaign fueled by a desperate need not to go to jail, Donald Trump has won the 2024 election."

He confirmed that "the deep shock and sense of loss is enormous," but encouraged his audience to "look on the bright side - at least there'll be a peaceful transfer of power! Mike Pence , olly olly oxen free!" he cried, a reference to January 6, 2021's attempted insurrection and former Vice President Pence's refusal to accede to Trump's seditious demands.

He shared that "as a late night host, people will often say to me, 'Come on, part of you has got to want Trump to win because he gives you so much material to work with." But said that was not the case, explaining, "No one tells the guy who cleans the bathroom, 'Wow, you must love it when someone has explosive diarrhea, there's so much material for you to work with!"