Stephen Colbert talks Donald Trump, Pope Francis, and the role of comedy in a dark world

Stephen Colbert and John Dickerson talk politics, religion, joy

(Image credit: Face the Nation)

last updated 28 December 2015

Stephen Colbert calls his Late Show "the joy machine," he told John Dickerson on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, because "unless you do it with joy, it's just a machine." And if he could interview Pope Francis, he would ask him "where he finds his joy" and how he got "into the shoes of the fisherman without becoming dogmatically so rigid that there's no joy left in him." Joy is especially important in a sad, dark year like 2015, Colbert said, because physiologically "you can't laugh and be afraid at the same time."

The discussion of joy and comedy came at the end of a 13-minute interview focused mostly on politics, a subject Colbert claimed he knows nothing about. On Donald Trump, Colbert said he respects his populist upending of the political parties and his willingness to give certain voters what they want, even though he may "disagree with anything that he's saying and think that his proposals are a little — well, more than a little shocking." He added: "I'm not the first person to say this, but I completely agree that he's my old character with $10 billion. He's completely playing on an emotional level, and so beautifully, I mean, it's one of the reasons why I just can't do that old character anymore, because he's doing it better than I ever could, because he's willing to drink his own Kool-Aid — and manufacture it and distribute it."

The other reason he decided to give up The Colbert Report, he told Dickerson, is that he didn't like taking sides all the time, even mockingly:

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

I think that area in between is where most people live, but we're asked to go in one direction or the other — mostly so one side or the other can raise money, or one side or the other doesn't necessarily have to explain themselves and it can be purely on an emotional appeal. But boy, it would be lovely if we all could have a conversation that doesn't involve demonizing the other side. I think that's worth doing — I don't know if that's my job, but I would say that's certainly an objective of mine. [Colbert, Face the Nation]

The interview also touches on Star Wars, Colbert's mixed feelings about his "Hungry for Power Games" sendoff of candidates, and how his interviewing style has changed since he moved to network TV. You can watch it below. Peter Weber

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.