Stephen Colbert caused quite a commotion on Monday night's 'Late Show' after making comments about Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin that some thought crossed several different lines, going so far as to get #FireColbert trending on social media, which he addressed at the top of last night's show.
Speaking to his audience, Colbert opened the show with a "Welcome to 'The Late Show'. I’m your host, Stephen Colbert," before pausing and looking around and saying "Still? I am still the host? I’m still the host!"
Colbert became sincere then and while he didn't directly apologise for his words on Monday night, he did address the reaction to it.
"Now, if you saw my monologue Monday, you know that I was a little upset at Donald Trump for insulting a friend of mine. So at the end of that monologue I had a few choice insults for the president in return. I don’t regret that. He, I believe, can take care of himself. I have jokes; he has the launch codes. So, it’s a fair fight."
"So while I would do it again," he continued, "I would change a few words that were cruder than they needed to be. I’m not going to repeat the phrase, but I just want to say for the record, life is short, and anyone who expresses their love for another person, in their own way, is to me, an American hero. I think we can all agree on that. I hope even the president and I can agree on that. Nothing else but that."
You can watch Colbert's monologue below.
