Stephen Colbert: 'We should never, ever have another election like this one'
At the end of his hourlong live election-night special on Showtime, "Stephen Colbert's Live Election Night Democracy's Series Finale: Who's Going To Clean Up This S‑‑‑?" the "Late Show" host seemed deflated, and he underlined the adverse effect the election has had on many of us.
"Now I think we can agree that this has been an absolutely exhausting, bruising election for everyone, and it has come to an ending that I did not imagine. We all now feel the way Rudy Giuliani looks," Colbert said while still awaiting the election's final results, which were looking good for Trump. "Seeing this election, people all around the world… everybody's going to be saying, 'Has America lost its mind?' And the answer is, evidently, 'Back off buddy, we got 300 million guns, and we're kinda stressed right now.'"
He said that politics had torn apart Americans in ways that were unfathomable to how he and others thought about politics and elections when he was a kid.
"By every metric, we are more divided than ever as a nation," he said. "But you know what, everybody feels that way. … Both sides are terrified of the other side, and I think that's why the voting booth has a curtain, so you have some place to hide after the election's over."
And at least now that it's over, whether you're horrified or celebrating, Colbert believes it's time to put away the rage we direct at others in our country and find harmony and agreement.
"Politics is everywhere, and that takes up precious brainspace we could be using to remember all the things we actually have in common. So whether your side won or lost, we don't have to do this s--- for a while," Colbert said. "Above all, we as a nation agree that we should never, ever have another election like this one. Now please get out there and kiss a Democrat. Go hug a Republican. Go give a Libertarian a reach-around. You survived. Good night, and God bless America."
Watch the video below: