President Biden has insisted he is staying in the presidential race despite calls from media pundits, members of his own party and, notably, late-night show hosts that have been typically more favorable to the Democratic president.
Late-night hosts like Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers were withering at times in their mockery of the president this week. Here are five of the most noteworthy instances:
Colbert, who has been one of Biden's most sycophantic allies in the media and even moderated at a fundraiser for him, was out on hiatus the week after the presidential debate. He came back swinging in his opening monologue of "The Late Show" on Monday, trashing Biden’s performance and the administration's post-debate response.
"This took a year off my life," Colbert lamented to his CBS audience on Monday night, blasting Biden’s recent insistence that his debate performance was simply a "bad episode."
Colbert continued to roast Biden's disastrous showing during his eleven-minute monologue.
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"Going into it, all Joe had to do was allay people’s fears that he was too old. But instead, Biden’s shakiness allowed Trump to get away with 90 minutes of lies, racism, and weird golf brags, which is why a lot of people are saying this was the worst debate performance of all time," Colbert said.
"But I don’t think that’s fair. I think that Biden debated as well as Abraham Lincoln, if you dug him up right now," he added.
Colbert also read a mock book on Wednesday titled, "Oh The Places For Joe!", asking the question: "Is he mentally fit?" The late night host read multiple passages from the book, which was a parody of the Dr. Seuss book, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"
"Can he serve a whole term?" Colbert read. "Can he beat RFK with his brain full of worm? Just ask him, just ask him, the man loves to talk, as long as you ask him before eight o’clock."
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"Join Joe Biden as he explores a wonderful world outside of the Oval Office!" the parody book's description reads.
"Here's the thing," Colbert said. "Maybe Biden can't win. Or maybe he's the only one who can win. I don't know what the right answer is, and I'm not alone."
The host of NBC’s "Late Night" took a more serious approach Monday, scolding the president for how he’s tried to assure Americans he’s fit to run for office after last month’s debate.
Meyers was particularly focused on a statement Biden gave during his post-debate interview with ABC News, where he told George Stephanopoulos that he would be satisfied with the election results, even if he lost, as long as "I gave it my all."
"No!" Meyers exclaimed after playing the clip, adding, "Giving it your all is what salsa lessons at a retirement home is all about," which he said indicated Biden didn't understand what he believes to be the negative implications of a second term for former President Trump.
"This isn’t about how you feel," Meyers said. "This is about how voters feel. If you truly believe that American democracy is at stake – and it is – then you have to act like it."
"You can’t claim to be the last bulwark against fascism and also have a ‘more sleep’ plan," he continued. "If you think this is serious, you need to act like it’s serious, because it is."
Jon Stewart, back to hosting "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, has been critical of Biden in recent months, but his issues with the president and his administration have sharpened in the weeks since the debate.
He called out Democrats and the White House for excusing what he described as a "shocking display of cognitive difficulty" at the debate.
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During his Monday show, Stewart played a compilation of Biden clips in which the president read "pause" and "repeat the line" from a teleprompter, along with other lapses in memory, including the time he claimed to have spoken to a long-dead former president of France.
"The point is, for a campaign based on honesty and decency, the spin about the debate appears to be blatant bulls---, and the redemption tour hasn’t gone that much better," Stewart said.
He also described Biden’s performance and inability to articulate his thoughts and words as "stunning," adding he "could not believe what I was watching."
He concluded, "I am in no way saying Biden’s got to drop out, but can’t we stress test this candidacy? Can’t we open up the conversation? Do you understand the opportunity here? Do you have any idea how thirsty Americans are for any hint of inspiration or leadership and a release from this choice of a megalomaniac and a suffocating gerontocracy? It is crushing our f---ing spirits."
During multiple monologues on "The Tonight Show" throughout the week, Jimmy Fallon repeatedly addressed ongoing concerns about Biden's fitness to serve as president.
"All across the country we are still in the middle of a major heatwave," he said. "Of course, in this type of heat you have to check in on the elderly, which is why the White House phone has been ringing off the hook."
"I'm not saying things are chaotic, but right now Biden's campaign office feels like the kitchen on ‘The Bear’: ‘Behind, behind, behind, we’re way behind,'" he added. "Yep, Democrats are torn between breaking up with their guy or just riding it out."
Fallon also mentioned the Wall Street Journal report that said Biden's inner circle had been working for the past year to keep signs of his aging under wraps.
"Biden staff, they did a good job, yeah," he joked. "Biden's staff started worrying about it when they needed his ice cream cut up for him."
Fox News' Jeffrey Clark and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report
