"Tonight was the dramatic season finale of our DNC spectacular," Stephen Colbert said on Thursday's live Late Show, laughing at Hulk Michael Bloomberg's unexpected appearance in his Avengers-themed "America: Endgame" intro. "Now that we've reached the end, we can reflect on a convention that really had it all: stars, everyday people, Billy Porter serenading Billy Porter."
Colbert ran through the testimonials from Andrew Yang, Pete Buttitgieg, historian Jon Meacham, "a lot of Republicans," and Bloomberg, and the jokes of host Julia Louis-Dreyfus. "The Democrats gave it their all this week, and even though COVID forced the convention to be socially distanced, I think I might have contracted a case of the hopes," he said. "No dry cough, but my face did leak several times."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Colbert got earnest: "Here's the deal: Biden spoke for over 10 minutes and addressed all the pain that Trump has inflicted on our country. All the possibilities for healing our nation, but most importantly, not once did he whine about shower pressure. Throughout the convention it was a common theme: Joe Biden's history of loss and suffering. Surprisingly we didn't get a lot of jokes out of it, but there was a reason the convention hammered this point home: to cast Joe Biden in stark contrast with Donald Trump."
"This evening Joe Biden showed himself to be a man who is decent, compassionate, flawed but honest, and that is water in the desert," Colbert said. "He's the sort of person who thinks before he says things, and when he gaffes — which he does, often — it's because his heart gets ahead of his words. He cares. And he tries his hardest. ... And when Trump tweets his all-caps rebuke tomorrow morning it's just gonna show how our president is not presidential, but Joe Biden is."
The Daily Show had a more ... nuanced assessment of Biden, the "perfectly adequate" nominee, "acceptable under the circumstances." Watch below. Peter Weber
-
September 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in ZürichThe Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
