Stephen Colbert used a Dr. Seuss parody to poke fun at President Biden’s apparent cognitive decline on Wednesday, as late-night TV hosts began attacking the much-criticized 81-year-old president following his disastrous debate performance.
Colbert made fun of Biden throughout his monologue on “The Late Show” Wednesday night, at one point joking that he’d found a new book titled “Oh, the Places For Joe!,” a parody of the rhyming children’s book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”
“Is he mentally healthy? Will he be able to serve out his term? Can he beat RFK with his wormy brain?” the host joked.
“Just listen, just listen. He loves to talk, as long as you can hear him before eight o’clock.”
Colbert is among a chorus of late-night hosts who have begun using Biden as a joke this week amid growing calls for the president to abandon his 2024 reelection campaign and field a new Democratic presidential candidate.
The shows went on a hiatus for much of the week following Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate, but Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Jon Stewart returned to the airwaves on Monday and quickly delivered monologues and skits about Biden’s ongoing saga.
Regarding Biden’s claims that he will remain in the 2024 presidential race, the host of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” joked on Monday that “the president is a guy who’s basically driving in the left lane at 30 miles per hour and isn’t going to move for anybody.”
He added that the only thing Democrats can do now is “tie a bunch of balloons to the White House and hope he floats away like the old man in Up.”
Later, Fallon performed a skit in which Biden received a phone call from former President Barack Obama (played by Dion Flynn) after the debate, poking fun at the president’s public memory loss.
“People are concerned because it seems like sometimes you lose your train of thought in the middle of a sentence, you trail off, and then you say something outrageous,” Obama said of Flynn.
“Well, that’s simply and completely what I would call a … wheelbarrow,” Biden retorted to Fallon. “See? You’re saying the same thing again,” Flynn replied.
Rather than directly mocking Biden, Seth Meyers on his “Late Night with Seth Meyers” show on Wednesday blasted Democrats for avoiding the issue and allowing the current furore to escalate in public.
“Don’t just sit there and be depressed. Do something,” the host said. “If you think Biden should step down, tell him to do so and begin the process of selecting his successor. If you think he should stay, take action now to steer the ship in the right direction.”
“But this depressing, hand-wringing, tale of misery is really exhausting,” he continued.
“Nobody cares how sad you are. Democracy is at stake,” he added.
“Democrats don’t seem to be addressing the situation with the urgency it needs.”
Myers further slammed Democrats, saying, “You talk about him the same way a disappointed parent talks about a student’s major: ‘So he wanted to go to med school, but he fell in love with improvisational theater.'”
Meanwhile, on “The Daily Show,” host Jon Stewart repeatedly accused Democrats of ignoring voter concerns and essentially telling Americans to “stand up or shut up.”
He bluntly stated that supporting the president’s “stuffy gerontocracy” in light of his debate gaffes was a threat to “our democracy.”
“This arthritic inability or unwillingness to respond to voters’ concerns as they receive urgent new information about candidates undermines trust and confidence in our system of government,” Stewart warned in a monologue on Monday..
This week’s late-night lineup has been a stark departure from the tone of the hosts, who have largely avoided criticizing Biden, instead choosing to repeatedly make Trump the butt of their jokes.
Some on social media were quick to point out that his loss of support from TV comedians after his disastrous debate performance was a dire sign.
“The end is near with no late night TV as Jimmy Fallon mocks Biden and Pelosi over whether they should step down,” one person posted on X.
“All the late night talk show hosts are dissing Biden. You must have all gotten the memo now. Time for a change? But who? Michelle has the best chance of beating Donald,” another person added, naming former first lady Michelle Obama as a potential replacement.
Another added: “Big donors are pulling out. Celebrity endorsements are pulling out. Media endorsements are pulling out. Late night TV hosts are embarrassing him. Members of his own party are calling for him to retire. I think Joe Biden is officially finished.”
