Stephen Colbert Is Praying Donald Trump Stays Healthy Until The Late Show

The CBS late night talk show will return to New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater on September 8. Asked whether he thought Trump had a legitimate shot at becoming President, Colbert paused and said “Honestly, he could”. “And I also pray that nobody puts that candle anywhere near his hair”, Colbert said. Don’t do anything risky, don’t ride any motorcycles.

“My first GOP candidate!” his Twitter post said, then poked fun at the size of the GOP field.

“I want to do jokes on Donald Trump so badly”, Colbert said.

– George Clooney is booked for the first show (“I hope someone has let [Clooney] know; it’s going to be very awkward if he doesn’t show up”, Colbert said); Kendrick Lamar is the show’s first musical guest.

He says he wants to retain the same eclectic guest list and is looking forward to more interview segments than “The Colbert Report” allowed: “I’m a comedian, but my favorite thing on the (‘Report’) became doing the interviews”, the Associated Press reports. “No one’s ever asked you this?’ He said, ‘Who would know to ask and who would care what the answer was, ‘” Colbert remembered. It also served as an exercise for him and his staff, because “that’s the speed at which you have to do it”. “About 10 days before Dave went off the air, I asked if I could hang out with him”. Letterman also showed Colbert how to use the freight elevator that connects the host’s office to the stage floor, something Colbert viewed as a torch-passing moment. “Made him cry!” when retiring host Jon Stewart teared up during the last tribute to him. That’s the real Stephen Colbert.

At the end of Stephen Colbert’s sit-down chat with reporters at the edge of the stage following his panel session, a publicist grabbed him from behind. “I told producers he’s going flop around like a fish on the dock”, he said. “This is the longest I’ve gone since [the age of] 24 not performing in front of a live audience, and I’m twitching”, he said. Now I feel more freed up.

But he waved off suggestions his arrival will launch a “late-night war” with ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon.

Stephen Colbert appeared at the Television Critics Association fall previews to give a sense of what to expect of his Late Show debut.

“That idea of not being bound by authority and not thinking anyone’s too good to be made fun of – including myself”, all comes from the Letterman model, Colbert said. Each night, he said, eyes gleaming, he lights a candle and prays that Trump stays in the race. “I always approach these things as a fan myself and I always love when there’s a bigger universe at work, but at the same time these shows really have to function on their own”.