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Stephen Colbert didn’t quite join the voices calling on President Joe Biden to step aside.
But the “Late Show” host, generally a strong supporter of the president, came very close on Monday night.
In his first show since last month’s debate with Donald Trump led to new questions about Biden’s mental stamina and calls for him to drop his reelection bid, Colbert noted that he interviewed the president at a campaign event just three months ago.
“That night, he seemed ancient but cogent,” Colbert said. “But our politics have become so weird, I don’t know what’s the right thing to do here.”
He noted that Biden’s attempts to reassure voters after the debate haven’t exactly gone well, especially after a curious moment in an ABC interview where the president appeared to say he did the “goodest” job he could do.
The White House asked for a correction, so the transcript now has the president saying something even more confusing: “I did the good as job as I know I can do.”
“That correction makes even less sense,” Colbert said.
“The Late Show” host said Biden is facing a battle between two virtues: the perseverance to get up and fight, and the self-sacrifice to step aside.
“Self-sacrifice takes a particular kind of courage, and that is a courage I believe Joe Biden is capable of,” Colbert said. “I believe he is good enough man, he is a good enough president, to put the needs of the country ahead of the needs of his ego. And however painful that might be, it is possible handing leadership to a younger generation is the right thing for the greater goodest. Or good as. Either one.”
See more in his Monday night monologue: