Stephen Colbert recently revealed his surprising choice for a one-day body swap: President Donald Trump. Despite their well-documented clashes, Colbert explained his reasoning with characteristic wit.
The 61-year-old TV personality – whose late night talk show is set to conclude next year in May – opened up about the topic during an appearance at Slate’s Political Gabfest on December 18.
During an interview with CBS anchor John Dickerson, Colbert was posed an intriguing question: “If you could inhabit someone else’s body for 24 hours, who would it be?”
Colbert responded candidly, saying, “It’s probably no surprise coming from me, but I’d choose to step into the skin of our president.”
Pressed further on why he picked the 47th President of the United States, Colbert’s answer was concise: “I would resign.”
He elaborated, “I’ve thought this through. There’d be no scandal, no dramatic revelations.”
Stephen Colbert shared why he would switch bodies with President Donald Trump for one day – despite the pair’s ongoing public feuds; seen in 2024
Colbert said in response, ‘I mean, it’s such a predictable answer for me. But I would slip inside the skin of our president’; Trump seen on Monday in Palm Beach, Florida
“I’d simply say, ‘It’s been great. I’m the best ever. I’m leaving at the top of my game. I’ve done it all. I’m just going to go.’ And that would be it. A glorious conclusion, just end it,” Colbert concluded with a flourish.
He then added, ‘I have a harrowing follow-up question: Is he taking over my body for 24 hours?’
If that was case, Colbert explained that he would tell his wife Evelyn, ‘Darling, go see your sister for a while.’
Elsewhere during the recent interview, the comedian also shared whether he would consider running for U.S. president in 2028.
‘Absolutely, I should not run for president,’ he admitted before adding, ‘I understand why you’d want me to.’
The star then quipped that he would have to consult with his ‘faith leader and my family to see if, once my service on The Late Show ends in May, if I could be of some greater service to this nation that I love so much.’
Colbert’s comments came shortly before Trump took to Truth Social to slam the late night talk show host last week – labeling him as talentless and called for CBS to end the comedian’s show immediately.
The post was uploaded after the network re-aired a December 8 monologue by Colbert as he slammed Trump’s hosting of The Kennedy Center Honors – which had been held on December 6.
When questioned why he chose the current 47th President of the United States, the star simply answered, ‘I would resign’; seen in June n The Late Show
‘Absolutely, I should not run for president,’ he admitted before adding, ‘I understand why you’d want me to’; seen earlier this month in NYC
Colbert’s comments came shortly before Trump took to Truth Social to slam the late night talk show host last week – labeling him as talentless and called for CBS to end the comedian’s show immediately; seen on December 24 in Palm Beach
‘Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success.’
Trump added, ‘Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings.
‘Stephen is running on hatred and fumes – A dead man walking! CBS should “put him to sleep,” NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do!’
Earlier this year in July, Colbert slammed Paramount – the parent company of CBS – for settling a $16 million lawsuit with Trump after he sued the network for airing an edited 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
During an episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, he called the move a ‘big fat bribe.’
He stated, ‘I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles: it’s “big, fat bribe.”
Just days after the episode aired, Paramount announced that Colbert’s talk show would officially come to an end in May 2026.
However, it cited finances as the reasoning behind the move – with claims that the network loses around $40 million annually with The Late Show on the air.
‘Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success,’ Trump wrote
Just days after the episode aired, Paramount announced that Colbert’s talk show would officially come to an end in May 2026; outside of The Late Show in July 2025 in NYC
Earlier this month, the comedian referenced to the company’s financial reasoning to axe his show when Paramount made an $108 billion bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.
‘Wow, I gotta say, if my company’s got that kind of green, I’m sure they can afford to un-cancel one of their best shows,’ he told the audience during an episode of The Late Show.
He then joked, ‘CBS, you heard the people – bring back The Equalizer.’
Colbert also addressed the end of his late night talk show during a conversation with GQ last month in November.
‘Listen, every show’s got to end at some time. And I’ve been on a bunch of shows that have ended sometimes by our lights and sometimes by the decision of other people.’
Earlier this month, the comedian referenced to the company’s financial reasoning to axe his show when Paramount made an $108 billion bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery; seen in 2024
He added, ‘That’s just the nature of show business. You can’t worry about that. You got to be a big boy about that. But I think we’re the first number one show to ever get canceled.’
The comedian admitted that the conclusion of his show ‘still seems like a long way away.’
At the time it was announced that Colbert’s show would end in 2026, Trump later offered his reaction.
In a post shared to Truth Social, the U.S. president typed out, ‘I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.’
In a post shared to Truth Social, the U.S. president typed out, ‘I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings’; seen in November in Miami
Despite the show’s cancellation, the comedian notably won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Series in September (seen above)
Despite the show’s cancellation, the comedian notably won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Series in September.
And when it comes to his future after The Late Show, the TV personality told GQ, ‘I love creating things and I still want to work with the people I work with.
‘I don’t know how you work with 200 people, 210, something like that, right? It’s an enormous amount of people. I love them.’
The star continued, ‘And I want to continue to do that with them to the degree that I can. And I want to find that with other people too. I just love making things.’
