Colbert to 3 Ex-Presidents: Come 'Drop Trou' on My Show

Three former US presidents have offered to ease concern and get publicly inoculated to prove the safety of vetted COVID-19 vaccines. Now, at least one-late night host is taking them up on that offer. "President Bush, President Clinton, President Obama, put your antibodies where your mouth is," Stephen Colbert implored on Thursday's Late Show on CBS. "Come on my show and drop trou backstage at the Ed Sullivan Theater in my Late Show Immuno-tabulous Ex-Presidential Jab-a-Rama, featuring physician's assistant Snoop Dogg! You are going to get the vac-sizzle." The caption on the Late Show YouTube channel notes that Elvis Presley assuaged public nerves in this way in October 1956, when he got the polio vaccine backstage before his appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show to convince teens and young adults to sign on.

While Jimmy Kimmel snorted on his own show that such a presidential airing would be "the most boring pay-per-view event of our lives," Colbert seems excited at the potential, per the New York Times. "That's must-see, baby," he gushed. "Forget The Mandalorian—people really want to watch next year's biggest hit, 'Someone Else's Doctor's Appointment.'" Trevor Noah, meanwhile, suggested he knew the former presidents' real motivation. "It's a great way to sneak ahead to the front of the line. I see you Barry! Yeah, I see you, you and Bill and George snatching those first shots. Hey fellas, game recognize game!" Noah said on The Daily Show. (More Stephen Colbert stories.)