Stephen Colbert went live Wednesday night after President Joe Biden’s inauguration and the feeling of deep relief in the room was palpable.
“Well, you did it,” he told him Late show viewers. ‘You survived the past four years and your pay? A shiny, new, old president. After admitting that he “cried a lot” during the day, Colbert said, “It was extremely emotional and not quite as I expected. Because I have to tell you I have no glory in me. There is no end zone dance in me. What I feel is a huge relief. “
“Today felt like a return to normal, even though so much of the day was abnormal,” said the host. But, he explained, we now finally recognize the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. And the weirdest feeling is when something is clearly abnormal and someone tries to tell you it isn’t, Colbert added. “What we saw today was the opposite of gaslighting. Today we were on the reality boarding, and I’m for it. “
As for the grand entrance of the new first couple, the host joked, ‘Isn’t that pretty? A presidential couple holding hands in a way that doesn’t seem contractually obligatory. The contrasts with Trump continued when Colbert said, “It’s so strange to hear someone say we’re a big country, without hearing which of us are radical socialist antifa who want to destroy our legacy with low-flow toilet flushes. . “
And later, “It was so nice to have a president with soul again. The previous one sold his to the devil and didn’t even get Georgia out of the deal. “
Finally, Colbert praised the ‘beautiful, moving words’ of the poet Amanda Gorman, who said that ‘being American is more than a pride we inherit, it’s the past we step into and how we fix it’.
“Yes, how do you fix the past?” Colbert asked. Have we tried to disconnect and reinsert the past? Because that works for everything else. “
“But however we fix this land, it’s not just the job of the new government,” he continued. “It’s up to all of us, as always, in any way. And President Biden, Vice President Harris, you have our prayers, our best wishes, and our confidence. “
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