Stephen Colbert Opens ‘The Late Show’ By Expressing ‘Grief for My Beautiful Country’ After Trump Rally Shooting

variety.com:

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large 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.