Colbert’s Election Special Was Amazing and Awful
Stephen Colbert’s election special on Showtime was supposed to be a big, profane, raucous celebration of the end of a crazy, awful presidential election. It was supposed to be Colbert’s own burst of freedom — doing a show on pay-cable, unshackled from the restrictions of network television, he could delightedly introduce himself as “your host Stephen F***ing Colbert.” He began the show with a cartoon that was essentially a reprise of PBS Frontline‘s “The Choice 2016” explanation of why Trump decided to run for president. Its ridicule is now instantly hollow.
But as the returns continued to roll in, Colbert’s smile began to freeze on his face. By the time he brought on the pundits John Heilemann and Mark Halperin — two guys who have proved themselves to be as good a symbol as any of the sucking-up-to-power smugness of the media — Florida had gone to Trump, and Halperin was suddenly trying out his new role as the voice of doom: “Outside of the Civil War, World War II and including 9/11, this may be the most cataclysmic event this country’s ever seen.”
Because this was live television, and because the election had not yet been called officially for Trump, Colbert was obliged to follow through with some prearranged humor. Poor Laura Benanti had to reprise her terrific Melania Trump impersonation, reciting scripted lines that came across as a blur: All anyone — including, it seemed, Benanti — could think of was the prospect of the Trump presidency.
Jeff Goldblum came out for an interview that turned into a therapy session. “What positive message can we get from tonight?” asked Colbert. Goldblum improvised like the jazz musician he sometimes is, but it ultimately came down to him trying to muster a bit of positivism and saying things like, “I won’t be uninspired by this!”
What happened to previously announced guests like Patton Oswalt and Katy Perry? Colbert brought out Charlamagne Tha God and comic Jena Friedman; they looked miserable. Charlamagne Tha God said “We’re f***ed” over and over. Asked by Colbert how she felt, Friedman said, among other things, “Get your abortions now” — a very intentionally horrible joke, meant to shock us in its sudden clarity and assumption, by implication, that a reconfigured Supreme Court, with the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned, is an inevitability.
Colbert had no choice but to become serious. He said, “This is a moment for people to understand that political involvement is a responsibility.” He said that in retrospect, “we overdosed on the poison” of party divisiveness, and that we should be ashamed to have felt that “there’s a gentle high to the condemnation.” Of taking political sides and doing political humor, Colbert said, “Whether your side won or lost, we don’t have to do this s*** for a while.” That was as close as he could come to comfort “in the face of something that might strike you as horrible.”
He concluded with an improvised speech about the greatness of this country, and signed off with, “Good night, and may God bless America.” The band played “My Country ‘Tis Of Thee.” Colbert sang the lyrics. It was an amazing show and it was an awful show, because to be anything less than awful in the face of what was befalling him would have been dishonest, and Colbert is an honest man.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.
