Obama Uses Colbert’s ‘Dumb’ Idea to Take a Quiet Shot at Trump

Former President Barack Obama used a joke from Stephen Colbert about a potential White House run to make a pointed comment about President Donald Trump during an interview that aired Tuesday on The Late Show.

Colbert interviewed Obama at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago as his CBS late-night show approaches the end of its 11-year run with him as the host. The conversation turned political when Colbert mentioned that some people suggested he should run for president after leaving late-night television.

“For the record, I think it’s a stupid idea,” Colbert said. “How dumb do you think it is for people to say that I should run for president?”

Obama paused before responding with a line that got a laugh from the audience.

“The bar has changed,” Obama said.

The former president then added, “I think that you could perform significantly better than some folks that we’ve seen.”

Obama didn’t mention Trump directly in that part of the exchange, but the comment clearly referred to the current president, who Obama has criticized more openly during Trump’s second term. This remark came during a wide-ranging conversation that mixed jokes about Colbert’s future with serious remarks about presidential power and government norms.

CBS News reported that Obama also discussed the politicization of the Justice Department and limits on presidential authority. He said the country may need to put some long-standing norms into law, including restrictions on White House involvement in prosecutions.

“We’re gonna have to do some work to return to this basic norm, and we probably now have to codify it,” Obama said. “The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever the president wants.”

Colbert, who often targets Trump in his monologues, kept the tone light at several points. He joked about Obama selling sneakers, a nod to Trump-branded merchandise, and asked if the former president regretted not pursuing similar ventures.

Obama laughed but said he saw the issue as a fundamental principle of government rather than a missed business opportunity.

The interview also covered extraterrestrial life after Colbert pressed Obama about comments he made earlier this year. Obama said he saw no evidence during his presidency that aliens had contacted Earth, then joked that the government would struggle to keep such a discovery secret.

“For those of you who still think that we’ve got little green men underground somewhere, one of the things you learn as president is government is terrible at keeping secrets,” Obama said.

This appearance marked another chapter in Obama and Colbert’s long-running television relationship. Colbert interviewed Obama three times on The Colbert Report, which aired on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2014. Obama also appeared on The Late Show in 2016 and 2020.

The latest interview came as Colbert prepares to leave The Late Show. CBS announced last year that it would end the program, stating the decision was financial. This announcement followed Colbert’s criticism of Paramount, CBS’ parent company, for settling a lawsuit filed by Trump.

The final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is set to air on May 21.