Colbert finally responds to #FireColbert backlash: ‘I would do it again’

Stephen Colbert finally responded Wednesday to online criticism of his off-color joke about President Trump that led to the hashtag #firecolbert and a call to boycott advertisers of the “Late Show,” which the comedian hosts.

“So while I would do it again, I would change a few words that were cruder than they needed to be,” he said during the taping of Wednesday’s broadcast, according to a transcript released by CBS.

“I had a few choice insults for the president … 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.”

Colbert’s brief response comes after criticism from Trump supporters and conservatives spread on social media in the past two days.

Though President Trump has for months been the target of Colbert’s pointed jokes and mockery, many on social media believe he went too far Monday night in making an oral-sex joke regarding Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

#FireColbert was trending on Twitter Wednesday morning.

Colbert’s monologues have largely focused on Trump, his aides and their gaffes. And his lampooning of the president seems to have paid off.

Just last year, he was trailing far behind Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show.” Colbert managed to narrow down Fallon’s lead and eventually topped his competition. By late March, Colbert’s show was averaging nearly 3 million viewers, about 400,000 more than Fallon’s.

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