CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked the Late Show host, Stephen Colbert, whether he would have Donald Trump on his show again, and the answer came as a surprise. The talk show host said that he wouldn’t let the president return to his show because he is disrespectful to the office of the president, according to The Washington Post .
“The quick answer would be no,” Colbert said. “It would be hard for me to be properly respectful of the office because I think that he is so disrespectful of the office that it’s very hard to perceive him as I would want to perceive a president in terms of their status and the dignity and their representation of the United States.”
“I think just for safety’s sake it wouldn’t be a good idea,” he added.
Colbert hosted Trump on his show in 2015 when he was a GOP candidate, a year before he won the 2016 presidential election.
Trump’s appearance on the show was controversial, and many considered it a big event for the newly-minted Late Show host. When Trump appeared on the show, Colbert had only been hosting for a few weeks. Ultimately, the show was a win for the host, drawing in 4.6 million viewers.
“One day, I might be able to tell my grandkids I interviewed the last president of the United States,” Colbert said as he opened the show.
Despite the joke, Colbert and Trump had a cordial conversation, with Colbert ribbing Trump for his presidential run because it helped to create more jokes for the comedian.
“I work hard at it,” Trump replied.
Over the course of the interview, Colbert apologized to the real estate mogul for his off-color jokes in the past and teased Trump about riding on Air Force One someday.
Stephen Colbert had Trump on his show once before. The host says he won’t do it again. https://t.co/NPtlMioFdL
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 15, 2019
Trump took the opportunity on the show to promote his presidential bid, saying that he was running not for the attention, but because he thought he could do a great job as president.
Toward the end of the interview, Colbert brought up Trump’s claims that former President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States, a controversial stance that many have called a racist attack on the country’s first black president.
Trump brushed off the question, saying that he didn’t talk about the subject any longer.
Critics were quick to point out that Colbert was too easy on Trump during the interview. Now, however, he says he wouldn’t interview the president again, and he isn’t the only comedian to say so. David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon have also said that they regret hosting Trump.