President Biden has insisted he will remain in the presidential race despite calls from media pundits, members of his own party and, in particular, late-night talk show hosts who have generally been more favorable to the Democratic president.
Late-night talk show hosts Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers mocked the president at times. Here are five of the most notable examples:
Colbert on his performance in the debate with Biden: He did as well as Lincoln… if he were dug up
Colbert, who has been one of Biden's most fawning allies in the media and even moderated a fundraiser for him, was out of action the week after the presidential debate. He came back strong in his opening monologue of ““The Late Show” on Monday, criticizing Biden's performance and the administration's response after the debate.
“This took a year off my life,” Colbert lamented to his CBS audience Monday night, criticizing Biden's recent insistence that his debate performance was simply a “bad episode.”
Colbert continued to criticize Biden's disastrous performance during his eleven-minute monologue.
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“At first, all Joe had to do was allay people's fears that he was too old. But instead, Biden's instability allowed Trump to get away with 90 minutes of lies, racism and bizarre golf bragging, which is why so many people say this was the worst debate of all time,” Colbert said.
Stephen Colber. (Stephen Colbert's Late Show/CBS)
“But I don't think that's fair. I think Biden debated as well as Abraham Lincoln, if you dug him up right now,” he added.
Colbert mocks Biden with a Dr. Seuss-style rhyme
Colbert also read a mock book on Wednesday titled “Oh, the Places for Joe!” that posed the question, “Is Joe mentally fit?” The late-night host read several passages from the book, which was a parody of Dr. Seuss's book, “Oh, the Places You'll Go!”
“Can he serve a full term?” Colbert read. “Can he beat RFK with his brain full of maggots? Ask him, ask him, that man loves to talk, as long as you ask him before eight o'clock.”
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“Join Joe Biden as he explores a wonderful world outside the Oval Office!” the parody book's description reads.
“Here's the thing,” Colbert said. “Maybe Biden can't win. Or maybe he's the only one who can win. I don't know what the right answer is, and I'm not the only one.”
Meyers scolds Biden for not taking Trump's threat seriously enough
The host of NBC's “Late Night” took a more serious approach Monday, chiding the president for how he tried to assure Americans he is fit to run for office after last month's debate.
Meyers focused in particular on a statement Biden made during his post-debate interview with ABC News, where he told George Stephanopoulos that he would be satisfied with the election results even if he lost, as long as he “gave it his all.”
NBC late-night host Seth Meyers criticizes President Biden for not taking Trump's threat of a second term seriously enough after their debate. (Screenshot/NBC)
“No!” Meyers exclaimed after playing the clip, adding, “Giving it your all is what salsa lessons in a nursing home are like,” which he said indicates that Biden doesn’t understand what he believes to be the negative implications of a second term for former President Trump.
“It's not about how you feel,” Meyers said. “It's about how voters feel. If you truly believe that American democracy is at stake — and it is — then you have to act accordingly.”
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“You can't pretend to be the last bastion against fascism and at the same time have a plan to 'get more sleep,'” he continued. “If you think this is serious, you have to act like it is, because it is.”
Stewart slams Democrats and White House for 'manipulating' debate
Jon Stewart, who returns to host Comedy Central's “The Daily Show,” has been critical of Biden in recent months, but his issues with the president and his administration have deepened in the weeks since the debate.
He criticized Democrats and the White House for excusing what he described as a “shocking display of cognitive difficulty” in the debate.
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During his show Monday, Stewart played a compilation of Biden clips in which the president read “pause” and “repeat line” from a teleprompter, along with other lapses from memory, including the time he claimed to have spoken to a long-dead former president of France.
“The point is, for a campaign built on honesty and decency, the debate manipulation appears to be complete nonsense, and the redemption tour hasn't gone much better,” Stewart said.
Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Seth Meyers (Fake Images)
He also described Biden's performance and his inability to articulate his thoughts and words as “stunning,” adding that he “couldn't believe what I was seeing.”
He concluded: “I'm not saying in any way that Biden needs to step down, but can't we test this candidacy? Can't we open up the conversation? Do you understand the opportunity this represents? Do you have any idea how thirsty Americans are for any hint of inspiration or leadership and a liberation from this election of a megalomaniac and a suffocating gerontocracy? It's crushing our fucking spirits.”
Fallon repeatedly mocks Biden's age
During multiple monologues on “The Tonight Show” throughout the week, Jimmy Fallon repeatedly addressed ongoing concerns about Biden's suitability to serve as president.
“Across the country we're still in the middle of a major heat wave,” he said. “Of course, with this kind of heat you have to be mindful of the elderly, so the White House phone has been ringing off the hook.”
“I'm not saying things are chaotic, but right now the Biden campaign office feels like 'The Bear's' kitchen: 'Behind, behind, behind, we're way behind,'” he added. “Yes, Democrats are divided between breaking with their man or just holding on.”
Jimmy Fallon arrives at the Time 100 Gala celebrating Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in New York, U.S., on April 23, 2019. (Reuters/Andrew Kelly)
Fallon also mentioned the Wall Street Journal report that said Biden's inner circle had been working over the past year to keep the signs of his aging a secret.
“Biden's staff did a good job, yeah,” he joked. “Biden's staff started worrying about that when they needed his ice cream cut off.”
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Fox News' Jeffrey Clark and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
