‘Grief for My Beautiful Country’

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Stephen Colbert kicked off Monday’s live edition of “The Late Show” with a pre-taped opener (shot around 7 p.m. ET) discussing the weekend assassination attempt on Donald Trump, before going live with his monologue, commenting on the first night of the Republican National Convention as previously planned.

“The United States came close to a great tragedy on Saturday, when at a political rally down in Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old gunman shot and nearly killed a former president and the man who today became the 2024 Republican nominee. My immediate reaction when I saw this on Saturday were horror at what was unfolding, relief that Donald Trump had lived, and frankly, grief for my beautiful country.”

Colbert noted that the attempt led to the death of a rally attendee — and he noted that, just like after other past U.S. shootings, he decided to start the show with a somber opening behind the desk.

“Though, I could just as easily start the show moaning on the floor, because how many times do we need to learn the lesson that violence has no role in our politics?” he said. “The entire objective of a democracy is the fight out our differences with as the saying goes, ballot, not a bullet.”

Colbert noted that after a young friend of his expressed disbelief that an assassination attempt could happen in the U.S., but noted that “I’m old enough that one of my earliest memories is sitting in a dark room with my sister, watching my parents little black and white TV and seeing Bobby Kennedy’s coffin on that slow train from New York, down to Washington.”

He pointed out that “whether the result of extremist politics or mental illness,” violence is wrong on any side of the political aisle — “from the shooting at a GOP baseball practice that seriously injured Steve Scalise to the plot to kidnap and kill Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the hammer attack that nearly killed Paul Pelosi to the horrors of January 6 to this most recent attack.

“The man who fired the shots seemed to have conflicted or confusing motivations, at least by the standards of today’s stark left and right divide,” he noted, pointing that the shooter was “someone barely out of boyhood,” and who reportedly donated to a Democratic group in 2021, then registered as a Republican that same year.

“So we may never understand his motivation. Nor is that necessarily our job,” he said. “Our job as American citizens is to reject violence and violent rhetoric in this time of crisis, however hard we want to fight for our ideas. And in that regard, not only is violence evil, it is useless.”

As Colbert added, “In the wake of this attack on Saturday, many Americans on both sides of the aisle — from President Biden to Speaker Johnson — are calling on all of us to change how we see each other, how we treat each other, how we talk to each other. And that may or may not happen. Those conflicting ideas will remain the same. So this week, we’re going to do our best to talk about those ideas, the people who represent those ideas, and many other things with guests, and who knows, if we’re lucky, maybe some fart jokes.”

After the opening, Colbert returned with a true monologue, and took advantage of the live nature of the episode to comment on the speeches, gaffes and awkward moments throughout night one of the Republican National Convention.

Because it was a live show and there was a lot to discuss, Colbert continued after his first break with more monologue in the second act as well — starting with the announcement that “Pillsbury douche boy” J.D. Vance had been chosen as his vice president candidate.

Colbert also referred to the “fragrant bullcrap” that came out of biased Florida federal judge Aileen Cannon as she dismissed the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.

Monday night repped the first chance for the late night hosts to comment on the events of the weekend; on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” that host condemned the “horrifying” assassination attempt made against Trump on Saturday and elaborated that “political violence must be condemned in all its forms,” the “Late Night” host also took a moment to condemn how certain right-wing political voices have responded to attack.

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is airing live this week from its studio home at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York from Monday, July 15 to Thursday, July 18. Guests on Monday’s show included former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and a performance by Bikini Kill.

On Tuesday, “The Late Show” will feature Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and singer Loudon Wainwright III, while Wednesday’s episode includes actor Glen Powell and host/radio personality Charlamagne Tha God. The week wraps on Thursday with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a performance by OneRepublic.

Next month, Colbert will broadcast from Chicago’s Auditorium Theater during the week of the Democratic National Convention, taking place in Chicago from Monday, Aug. 19 to Thursday, Aug. 22.