And musical guest Brandi Carlile featuring jon batiste and stay homin. and now, live on tape from a safe distance, its stephen colbert. Stephen hey, everybody, welcome to a late show. Im your host, stephen colbert. How are you guys doing tonight . I cant hear you because i am alone. So alone. Im alone, right, pete . Oh, you are so alone. Stephen thank you. Now as you can tell from my blue blazer im all cressed up for a cocktail party, but evidently, the network thinks we should do a show. Whats up . Okay, heres big news. In the democratic primary theres big news, because there is no democratic primary because today, senator Bernie Sanders announced he was dropping out of the 2020 democratic race. I guess during a pandemic, crazy ideas like medicare for all just dont resonate. Bernie addressed his supporters this afternoon in a live stream. I want to thank the many hundreds of thousands of americans who attended our rallies, town meetings, and house parties from new york to california. Some of these events had over 25,000 people. Some had a few hundred. Some had a dozen. Stephen you know, listening to bernie makes me nostalgic for a time in america when anything seemed possible, like having a dozen people in a room. Bernie was grateful for everyone who contributed to his grassroots movement. I want to thank the two million americans who have contributed financially to our campaign. Thank you for your ten million contributions averaging 18. 50. Stephen as bernie 18. 50, which i am told these days is enough to get you half a clorox wipe. Im going to miss that. Sanders made sure his supporters knew that the fight for Economic Justice is not over. Nelson mandela, one of the great Freedom Fighters in modern world history, famously said and i quote it always seems impossible until its done. Stephen to which joe biden replied as biden hey, my old buddy nelson you know i got arrested with him in wakanda then bernie broke the hard news as gently as he could. I wish i could give you better news, but i think you know the truth, and that is that we are now some 300 delegates behind Vice President biden, and the path toward victory is virtually impossible. Stephen Bernie Sanders is saying Bernie Sanders cant win . Man, he is going to catch hell from Bernie Sanders supporters. Now, ill be speaking with senator sanders later tonight, his first interview following the announcement. This will be the fanth time i interviewed him. I will thank him for his campaign, and present him with his colbert loyalty card, diamond class membership. Bad news, bernie, only 1 of my guests get that turns out, bernies last primary was yesterday in wisconsin. And it was odd. I would call so far as to call it a clusterodd. See, theres this pandemic maybe youve heard of it. But despite that, the wisconsin g. O. P. Forced the state to hold the election yesterday. Making people stand in line for hours on end in the middle of a pandemic is clearly voter endangerment. Remember lincolns immortal words government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. As long as you dont vote in a pandemic. Stay someplace safe, like a theater. Too soon . Now, almost all of the polling stations were closed because poll workers didnt feel safe. But Republican Assembly speaker robin vos calmed fears by telling voters, you are incredibly safe to go out. Wow, that is reassuring. Oh, im being told we actually have that statement on video. Jim, lets watch him making that reassuring statement. You are incredibly safe to go out. Stephen yes, pay no attention to his face mask, gloves, and full surgical outfit. You are incredibly safe. And the wisconsin fire marshall issued this followup announcement the fire is under control everybody back in the barn stephen speaking of flaming idiots, donald trump. The president has caught a lot of blame for his late response to the coronavirus, but at yesterdays daily shoutfest, he addressed that criticism head on by saying, look over there. The w. H. O. Thats the World Health Organization they have been wrong about a lot of things. And they had a lot of information early. They called it wrong. They called it wrong. They really they missed the call. They could have called it months earlier. They would have known, and they shouldve known. And they probably did know. Stephen i think hes projecting. as trump the w. H. O. Totally shanked it on coronavirus. And the way they treated their first wife total disgrace. By the way, theres no way youre 239 pounds, w. H. O. Not fooling anybody. Its sad. Its its sad. Trump promised he would make the w. H. O. Pay for the things that he claims they did or did not do. Were going to put a hold on money sent to the w. H. O. Were going to put a very powerful hold on it. Stephen yes, he is going to cut off americas contribution to the World Health Organization during a pandemic. Help im being robbed. Quick, fire the police troval v the president stuck to hisguns,n he said this. Is the time to freeze funding to the w. H. O. During a pandemic . No, maybe not. Im not saying im going to do it, but im going to look at it. I said we will look at it. You did say no, i didnt. Stephen yes, you did hes rewriting history in the same press conference where he made it. This is like j. F. K. Saying this we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because wait, who said were going to the moon . No were not. Stanley kubricks going to fake it. Stephen now, the w. H. O. Did not ignore early warnings about covid19. Donald trump did. Yesterday, trump explained why he didnt act on the warnings. You have to understand, i am a cheerleader for this country. I dont want to create havoc and shock and everything else. I think a president has to be a cheerleader for their country. Stephen first of all, sir, please dont force my Graphics Department to Photoshop Donald trump wearing a cheerleading okay, oh, my god jimmy, please, take it down thank you. Second, the president is not a cheerleader. The president is a quarterback. Tom brady doesnt pull everybody into the huddle and say, okay, bring it in, guys. Ive got a theory in a couple of months when it gets warmer, the other teams are going to go away like a miracle. Okay, ready . Do nothing. Was that loud . Was that loud. Hey, there was a major white house staff departure yesterday. White House Press SecretaryStephanie Grisham not seen here, because thats not her. This is Stephanie Grisham. You didnt know that, because in her nine months on the job, grisham never held a daily press briefing. In nine months, she could have gotten pregnant and had the baby and maybe she did, because she never had a press briefing. T owhat jou nt ha to do, and youll never work a day in your life. So whos taking grishams place . Well, trumps fourth press secretary will be Trump Campaign spokesperson and discount ivanka halloween costume, kayleigh mcenany. Mcenany has just started the job, but she proved six weeks ago that shes ready to misinform the American People on day one. This president will always put america first. He will always protect american citizens. We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here. Stephen well, that did not age well. But she was half right. When it comes to the pandemic, trump has definitely put america first. But there is some promising news when it comes to treating covid19, because a new study shows that coronavirus patients can benefit from a blood transfusion from someone who has recovered from the disease. Amazing. Please dont take this the wrong way but, tom hanks, we are coming for your blood. The new treatment involves harvesting diseaseresistant antibodies and injecting them in someone whos currently fighting covid19. And in the case of one test subject, 11 days after his first symptoms had appeared, he received an infusion of socalled convalescent plasma, and the following day, his blood tested negative foct okay, blood is the cure. So its time to issue a longoverdue formal apology to vampires. Vampires, im sorry. Please forgive us, you insatiable princes of darkness. All this time, we called you monsters for abducting young people and sucking them dry like capri suns. When all this time, you were just practicing selfcare. Sorry about the stakes through the heart. My bood. Now, last week, to stop the transmission of coronavirus, the c. D. C. Issued new guidelines saying if youre going to leave your house, you should wear a mask. But if you wear one to the bank, be sure to also wear a tshirt shortage of masks for healthca workerth guidelines explicitly ll people to make them at home from common materials. Justthsks empty toilet paper rolls. Well, to get the word out there that we all need to be covering our faces, a group of concerned celebrities who have always been promask has just released this new p. S. A. this is a Public Service announcement from the society of super villains regarding covid19. Remember to wear a mask at all times when in contact with strangers, no matter how delicious they look. If your mask has a respirator, like mine, best to give that to medical professionals. If you dont have a sewing machine, do what i did layer a tshirt under a hockey mask. But what about my mask . Does this work . No, its got to cover your mouth. No one comes to the opera anyway, so im safe. So, remember, wear a mask. Because fro fewer people whot sick fewer we can terrorize, and thats not a world any of us want to destroy. Stephen weve got a show for you tonight. When we return, i will have the first interview with senator Bernie Sanders since his big announcement. Stick around. Please. Snoez dont get mad. Get e trade, dawg. Way more than you think. Check out this game. Yes. Galaxy 5g means you will beat your friends what if i want to show my friend this little guy . Calling the whole gang is even better with galaxy 5g. Wait a minute, are you bored . Imagine a future where the best seats in the house are in your hand. With galaxy 5g yelling its like being there. Without being there. Without being there. The fun cant be beat. S, with little candy noses, bunnies are so sweet. Rice krispie treats make easter hop how many ways can you. Snap, crackle, pop . Find these treats and more at ricekrispies. Com. Just between us, cleaning with a mop and bucket is such a hassle. Well i switched to swiffer wet jet and its awesome. Its an allinone that absorbs dirt and grime deep inside. And it helps prevent streaks and haze. Were gonna find a way through this. Were working really, really hard in hospitals, our nurses are techs, all the docs. Its about staggering when people get sick h wfotthese and donating personal protective equipment. We stay at work. For you. You stay at home for us. Just no know were all with you. Thank you,thank you so much. Thank you doctors nurses stephen my guest tonight has spent decades working towards political revolution, and just today, suspended his president ial campaign. Please welcome senator Bernie Sanders. Senator, its a pleasure to have you here. Thank you for inviting me, stephen. Stephen obviously, there is one question i have to ask you. Why is tonight different from all other nights . laughter well, obviously, for us, its the end of our effort to become president of the United States. And i just want to take this opportunity to thank the many hundreds of thousands of grassroots activists, people who have been knocking on doors, people who contributed 18 a contribution for making the campaign possible. It has been an absolute joy and a privilege to represent those folk displz senator, why is now the right time, in your opinion, to end your campaign . You say youre still interested in getting delegates and massing more delegates and taking them to the convention. Why stop the campaign now . Well, i think fair couple of reasons. I think the mathematics is pretty clear they cant win. And while you can make the argument that you should run a campaign, fight for your ideas, bring people together, even if you cant win, i think the pandemic that we are experiencing right now makes even that virtually impossible. We dont hold rallies. People cant knock on doors. And i think by ending the campaign now, by focusing on my job as a United States senate to help deal with this pandemic, deal with the economic collapse that were experiencing, i think its a better use of my time. And i think that makes the most sense to me right now. Stephen in 2015, when you launched your First Campaign for president , you said that, today we begin a political revolution. You may not reach the promised land, but youve been to the mountaintop. Youve seen that youve changed the political landscape, especially for the democratic party. What do you think the greatest influence of your campaign will be ultimately . Well, i think what we have managed to do, stephen and not me alone. I mean, weve done it with fantastic surrogates, with great people all over the country we have asked the mor the americane aicismy question and that is why . Why do we have so much income and wealth inequality . Judge do we have three people owning more wealth than the bottom half of america and a half a Million People sleeping out on the streets tonight . Why are we the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all people as a human right . Im talking to you 50 miles away from the canadian border. For decades, they have managed to provide quality care to all of their people at 50 of the cost we spend. Why are so many of our kids leaving college deeply in debt and so many others not even able to afford to go to college . Why arent we more aggressive in dealing with Climate Change . Why do we have more people in jail than any other country . So i think raising those questions and saying to people . That doesnt have to be the case. That if we are prepared to come together and have the courage to take on the greed of a corporate elite, many of whom could care less about ordinary people, all they need is more they want is more and more money. Do we really need to have families in america worth more than 100 billion, when half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck . When were looking today at doctors and nurses who cant acquire the masks they need, are putting their lives on the line, and yet, we are the wealthiest country in the history of the world. How does all of that happen . So i think maybe our major contribution is to ask the simple question why . Why are we where we are today . And where do we have to go . Do we have to be living in a society where there is so much greed on top . Cant we all come together and create a decent live for all of us . Stephen well, your dropping out of the race leaves joe biden the presumptive rtminee for the democratic have spoken to theidene youe ths decision . Yes, i have, actually, and ive spoken to him, you know, in the last couple of weeks. You know, its no gret secret that, you know, joe bidens politics are different from mine. But i have known joe since i came to the senate in 2006, worked with him when he was Vice President in the obama administration. And what i would say to people is that joe is a very decent human being. I know his wife, jill, as well, as a wonderful person. And that i hope to be able to work with joe to move him in a more progressive direction. And i think joe is a good politician. And he understands that in order to defeat the president , that in order to defeat trump, hes going to have to bring new people into his political world, and that hes going to have to listen to their needs young people, working people and maybe start moving in a different direction to some degree than he has in the past. Stephen now, i listened to your announcement today online. Was i know that you you said the same thing about Vice President biden, essentially, today. Is that an endorsement . Is that a fullthroated endorsement of joe biden . Well, that were going to be talking to joe, and we are. Were talking to his team of advisers. But what i have said i can tell you this, stephen. What i said from the first day that i announced my intention to run for president , i will do everything that i can to make sure that donald trump is not reelected. Because i believe trump has been the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country, and were seeing his narcissism, his ignorance playing out in terms of the pandemic were experiencing right now. So i will do everything i can. But i will say that we are, you know, talking to joe and were talking to his team about how we can work together. Stephen so youll have those conversations, and then decide just how full your throat will be when you endorse him . laughter . Right. Thats what were working on right now is how we can best go forward together. Stephen what could he adopt . What is the thing that joe biden could say that you think would best invite your followers into his camp . Because there are still hard feelings from some of hillarys people, the feeling that your endorsement was not full throated enough in 2016. What could joe do i would just say that in terms of 2016, i worked as hard as i could to see that trump was not elected. Stephen okay. But, you know stephen what could biden say to invite your followers . Look, its no secret, i mean, the facts are pretty clear, that during this campaign we did very, very well with younger people. And by that i mean not just people 20 years of age, people 50 years of age or younger. And joe did very, very well with older people. And i think what joe has to do and i think he will do is look at what are those issues that young people and working class people who supported me, what are they concerned about . And to the degree that hes prepared and i think he is, in many respects to raise the minimum wage to a living wage of at least 15 bucks an hour. To be bold on the issue of Climate Change, which is a huge issue for young people all across this country. To and i just read a statement that he made today, and i think he is moving in that direction to make public colleges and universities tuitionfree. I think he is prepared to move in that direction, which would be a big deal for the young people in this