colbert is up next. that will do it for us for now, merry christmas to all captioning sponsored by cbs >> today, president trump will pardon one of two iowa turkeys named corn and cob. >> we talked last week about whether donald trump might pardon himself. ♪ ♪ >> announcer: it's "a late show with stephen colbert." tonight: plus, stephen welcomes president barack obama and musical guest brittany howard featuring jon batiste and stay

homin'. and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater office building in new york city, it's stephen colbert! >> stephen: hey, everybody! welcome to "a late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert, i'm glad to be your host tonight, all nights, but particularly tonight is an historic night in the annals of television. tonight is the first night i am sitting down with a guest in person "the late show"" and who else do you want to break that seal with but president barack obama. that's right, barack obama, my guest tonight. three acts? three acts of barack obama. and you go, "is that-- seems like a long time" no, it's not. you can't believe how quickly it flies. first act, obviously, just friends hanging out. power packed though, and really substantive. next act we're going to move some paper.

we're going to sell some books. super fun at the same time. then the third act, we play basketball. that's historic. that is an historic game. wait until you see the results. and, yes, there was some wagering. anyway, how many questions did i get in? >> three. >> stephen: three questions, 20 minutes. he was very gracious. thank you again, mr. president, for sitting down with us. you know who he is married to, that michelle obama. that would be a great guest. that, that would be a great guest. not that he's not a good guest. he's a great guest, but everybody loves her. everybody loves her. i'm also joining you on-- is that too long a pause? i was just inspired by the president. it was an obama-esque pause. i'm also joining you on an historic day for fans of capitalism, because for the first time ever, the dow hit 30,000. wow!

that is... so many of them. of the dow... points? is it dow points? dowlings. is it dow drops. dow units. 30,000 dows, dowlings. let me put it in lehman's terms. if you put all 30,000 of those dow points end to end, it would stretch all the way to the s&p 500. i don't actually know what they are. i think each dow is like a ticket at chuck e. cheese. when it was at 25,000, america could get a stuffed bunny. now we're at 30,000, and we could go for the bear or the big lion, or the full-sized football. anyway, whatever they are, it's a lot of them. so, to everyone who works on wall street, congratulations. and to everyone who doesn't work on wall street, good luck with that. never one to pass up an opportunity to gloat for something he's not responsible

for, the president held an impromptu press conference to congratulate himself for the dow jones numbers going big on the money chart. >> thank you very much, and i just want to congratulate everybody. the stock market, dow jones industrial average just hit 30,000, which is the highest in history. the stock market's just broken 30,000, never been broken, that number. that is a sacred number, 30,000. >> stephen: yes, a sacred number. as jesus himself said, "blessed be the number 30,000, for, man, that's a lot of whatever it is you're counting. sheep? what else do we own around here? nothing. gotta be sheep." then, just one minute and 15 seconds after the press conference started, it turned out it wasn't a press conference. it was just a brag 'n dash, because he left without taking any questions. >> thank you very much, everybody. thank you. (crosstalk) (reporters shouting questions) >> mr. president-- >> mr. president-- >> sir, why not concede for the good of the country, sir.

>> that was weird as ( bleep ). >> stephen: stirring words that someday, no doubt, will grace the facade of his presidential library. this was a rare potus sighting. since the election, he's made few public appearances. he knows that if he comes out of his bunker and sees his shadow, he'll only have six more weeks of president. but today, he had a pressing matter of national security: the annual turkey pardon. this year's star turkeys were named corn and cob. we have some footage of them arriving in d.c. for their big day. here they are arriving at the iconic willard hotel, greeting their throngs of fans, and then relaxing in some plush beds, where they acknowledge their privilege during an exploding homeless crisis. our soon-to-be former leader made it clear how fortunate the pardoned bird was. >> now it's time for the moment of our guests of honor. they have been waiting. and, in this case, he has been waiting for this. bring them out.

look at that beautiful, beautiful bird. oh, so lucky. that is a lucky bird. >> stephen: yes, it's a lucky, lucky bird... to have a better legal team than the president. then he said the words that so many who have worked for this administration have longed to hear: >> i hereby grant you a full pardon. >> stephen: there you have it-- an innocent turkey pardoned by a lame duck. and he just got a little bit lamer because last night, the general services administration finally declared that biden can begin his transition, even though the current president still hasn't conceded, and he's not happy about it. i'll tell you all about it in tonight's exciting installment of... ( to tune of "jingle bells" ) ♪ screw yourself screw yourself ♪ i won't go away >> "the road from the white house." >> stephen: when things go wrong for the president, he looks deep inside and tries to understand who he's going to blame.

in this case, the needle landed on his personal attorney and bilbo possessed by the one ring, rudy giuliani. after rudy's disastrous press conference last week, aides say the president started to worry that his legal team "is composed of fools that are making him look bad." no, sir, that's your hair and makeup team. but one of the key confidence killers could have been when rudy had this literal meltdown. even if it's close to thanksgiving, the president doesn't want a lawyer who makes his own gravy. now, it may be hard to imagine, but rudy wasn't always the troll living under america's bridge. just 18 years ago, he was almost universally hailed as a national hero. in fact, this morning, the internet upchucked a newly rediscovered clip of a 2003 rudy biopic featuring actor and guy on the subway who keeps mentioning the seat next to him is free, james woods. woods-- 1600 on his s.a.t.s,

just ask him and he'll tell you- - unironically portrayed giuliani as a romantic idealist. here's just a taste. >> that's what my father taught me. my dad and my other heroes: winston churchill, bobby kennedy >> democrats. >> as i once was. >> why'd you switch? >> you know, democrats always talked about things getting better. republicans did whatever they could to make them better. that's what we're here for, right? ♪ ♪ >> stephen: they would have paid for better writing, but they blew the whole budget on that windows 98 screensaver of the ocean behind him. now, the actual title of that movie is "rudy: the rudy giuliani story." seems a little redundant, but then again, all the best movies have to drive home their subject matter. that's why my favorite movie is

"star wars: a star wars story." what i love about that scene is how realistically it portrays the romance of talking about republican policy right before you make out. hollywood does it all the time in love scenes: >> i'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to-- >> take away her bodily autonomy. ♪ ♪ >> you complete me. i'm not just-- >> shut up. just shut up. you had me at-- >> opportunity zones. >> stephen: so-- i got all teared up there. so, with the president distancing himself from the national embarrassment that is

rudy giuliani, he's looking to align himself with a more reputable figure: actor and guy in the market for a used waterbed, randy quaid. quaid, of course, is most famous for trying to erect a randy quaid museum, or claiming he's "on the run" from a celebrity- killing organization called the "hollywood star whackers," or showing up in court wearing a sheriff's badge, or posting disturbing sex tapes in which he and his wife are having intercourse below a picture of rupert murdoch. obviously, randy's a busy guy-- barely has time to buy and sell urine on craigslist. and, turns out, quaid has been a longtime maga man, and this morning, the president repaid his loyalty by retweeting several of randy quaid's political opinions such as this one: "we've lost confidence in the system that elects our leaders. 79 million americans believe election was rigged, the results fraudulent. we need an in-person-only paper ballot re-vote, especially in

the states where flagrant irregularities have occurred. no accuracy, no democracy!" to which the president added "are you listening, republicans?" no. the only person listening to randy quaid is his therapist, which, unfortunately, is an old boot he put a hat on. quaid also got a retweet today from the president for his award-winning pro-administration monologue from last year. >> is this the way america goes? from george washington to george soros? wake up, you sleeping giant. the lilliputians that tie you down with their fantastic dreams of icebergs melting into dinosaurs and train tracks stretching across the pacific waters. trump trumpets reveling, and it's time to heed the call. >> stephen: "okay, thank you, mr. quaid, but this is an audition for a processed beef stick. so if you could just snap into the slim jim and not mention the trilateral commission, that

would be great." that's the more toned-down of the two randy quaid monologues the president of the united states retweeted today. here's the bananas one: >> fox news daytime ratings have completely collapsed, weekend daytime, even worse. very sad to watch this happen. they forgot what made them successful, what got them there. they forgot the golden goose. >> stephen: i believe he's using what's known as "mood lighting." the mood? peyote bender. as crazy as that last video is, believe it or not, quaid was just giving a dramatic reading of a tweet from the president. so, a crazy guy retweeted another crazy guy performing the first crazy guy's crazy tweet. it's a mobius mess.

it's like watching two toddlers try to change each other's diapers, but somehow, it's even more full of crap. we have a great show for you tonight. my guest, in case i haven't mentioned it, is president barack obama. stick around. ♪ ♪ (vo) thirteen years ago, subaru created the share the love event. where our new owners could choose a national or hometown charity. and subaru and our retailers would proudly make a donation. but now, in times like these, companies are having a hard choice to make. but subaru is more than a car company. and as charities struggle, we cannot just stand by. which is why we plan to donate over twenty four million dollars, again this year. the subaru share the love event, going on now.

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>> jon: yes, indeed. oh, i'm so grateful and thankful that the music is connecting with people and adding to people's lives. >> stephen: well deserved. you and cory wong. what's the name of that album. >> jon: "meditations." and "chronology of a dream." you were there. >> stephen: i was there. as a matter of fact i was just listening to the very thought of you, you and rachel, this weekend. amazing. >> jon: oh, yes. >> stephen: you've got my vote. >> jon: hey, now, let's get it! come on! >> stephen: let's swing this one. >> jon: yeah, yeah. >> stephen: hey, stick around, i'm about to interview barack obama. i think you're going to like it. >> jon: i heard, i heard. i think i will. >> stephen: jon batiste, everybody. >> jon: later on. >> stephen: thanks, jon. folks, yesterday, i had the honor to sit down with our 44th president, barack obama, whose new book, "a promised land," is out now. jim? well, president obama, thank you

so much for joining me today. >> it is wonderful to be here. thank you for having me. >> stephen: it's good to see you. >> it is good-- it is good to be seen. i've been seeing you on television, but it's good to see you in person. >> stephen: that's nice. how old are you? are you-- are you-- are you 18 and 54? >> i'm not the demographic you are looking for. >> stephen: it doesn't count. i apologize, it doesn't count. >> michelle says hey. >> stephen: good. >> you know she loves you. >> stephen: i have really enjoyed spending time with her over the last four years. >> i know, and she adores you. she thinks the world of you. i think you're okay. >> stephen: can we just take moment-- i can just-- and i want to talk. i just want to take a moment to drink you in for just a moment. because i'm having to get used to looking at a president. ( laughing ) again. you know, i've gotten out of-- i've gotten out of the habit. i have to warm up for joe biden. i don't want to pull anything when i see him take the oath of office. you have to ease me into this a

little bit. >> joe's going to be great. >> stephen: i have no doubt. >> and kamala is going to be great. they're going to have big challenges ahead, but, you know, we've got the potential of returning to a presidency that is actually paying attention and trying to do right by all people and not just some. >> stephen: a lot of announcements of cabinet positions over the last two days? >> yes, people i know. >> stephen: guys you know. there's a whole lot of return to the sort of-- the stability and- - what's that word? competency. ( laughs ) of your eight years. which is novel. which is as good as a vacation right now, somebody that actually wants to do the job they're hired to do. that's an interesting idea, isn't it? >> and has experience, and has read about stuff, and knows where countries are. it's great. >> stephen: so, how you been? how you been the last four years? i haven't seen a lot of you. >> no.

>> stephen: and it's been kind of-- i don't know if you've been paying attention-- it's been kind of crazy out here. ( laughing ) we're all-- we're all a little tired. this is how i want to sit. this is my actual-- this is america's posture. we're a little bit like a boned fish right now, and it's one of the reasons why it's nice to see you. so, um-- >> listen, i'm-- i am good. >> stephen: yeah. >> but i think that i-- i am typical of a lot of us who are lucky enough that our jobs haven't been endangered, because i was already out of a job as a- - as a consequence of covid. >> stephen: do you have any prospects? >> i haven't had anybody in my immediate family get sick. you know, we don't have to worry about the bills. and, you know, so on the one hand, we've had our girls at home. that has been a complete joy--

for us. i don't know about them. and then, you know, the-- i think i've used this phrase before-- the shambolic nature of the government response, obviously, has been frustrating. >> stephen: especially after you left a game plan. >> yes. >> stephen: for this very specific thing. and talked about it before you left. >> yes, yes. >> stephen: what was that like to watch this response? >> that-- that's the frustration. this would have been hard for anyone. i mean, you see even people like angela merkel who is herself a scientist, exemplary, but you still see some spikes in germany. but let's take canada, where the death rate is 39% ours per capita, right. that-- that's a measure of if we had done the work that was not

rocket science, right. we're not talking about inning vaccines-- i'm glad to see the vaccines coming on board. ut preliminarily communicating effectively, respecting the science, not undermining the leading epidemiologist in the country and saying, he's an idiot. you know, being consistent in terms of masks and social distancing, not suggesting that, you know, this is some act of oppression but rather just a common sense thing to prevent people from getting sick. had we just taken those steps, there is no doubt that we would have saved some lives. and, ironically, the economy would be better because we would not be swinging back and forth in the ways that we have, and people would feel more confidence about making day-to- day decisions about shopping or, you know, going out.

>> stephen: besides the obvious nature of the responsible thing to do. >> yes. >> stephen: and is the economically vital thing to do, are you surprised that they did not see the political advantage of looking like you cared? >> yes. and i think that that is a measure of how detached from reality and how embedded ideological and conspiratorial thinking has become, where you're doing it even when it's to your disadvantage, right. in your original show, right, you know, there was a-- you're satirizing a certain attitude. but you never thought that folks would actually start believing. >> stephen: i did not know i was a prophet. i thought i was a comedian. >> you thought you were a

comedian. but now you're-- you couldn't make up some of the stuff that you're seeing. and it is to the detriment of the country, but as you said, it's also-- it runs contrary to what would have been smart politics if, you know, the republicans wanted to maintain the white house. and that in some ways is more troubling because now it's no longer even strategic. it is-- you're drinking your own kool-aid in a way that i think is troublesome. and one of the big challenges that joe biden is going to have is to figure out how to puncture that, you know, information bubble that-- not just republican officials, but a sizable portion of voters are in right now. >> stephen: that gets you to a question that's buried deep in

these pages right here, but it could be the only question i asked you. if i only had one question to ask you right now it would be, "what happens now?" what the hell happens now when you have, mmm, half or 70% of the republicans, so maybe about 40% of the public think that joe biden won by cheating, and they believe that all these fantasies being promulgated about democratic cabals that seem to be pulling the strings in states, democrat or republican, all over the united states. how do you then speak to those people, even if you are someone like joe biden who's capable, believes in a government doing the job to serve the people, and is empathetic to the concerns and needs of the people who didn't vote for him, part of-- and we'll get to eventually. part of what i think is extraordinary about what we're about to go through is you know

that joe biden actually does care about the people who didn't vote for him. >> yeah. >> stephen: and why they didn't and what they think. how does he reach those people? >> well, look, i think he's in a good position to make the effort. the fact that he won is indicative of the message he sent of wanting to unify the country. i do think people are exhausted by just this, you know, world wrestling federation constant cage match. and people just want to feel as if a day passes without it being dominated by something crazy coming out of the white house. >> stephen: that photo opportunity after y'all had had your conversation in the oval office-- and i don't want to spend a lot of time. i've been talking about the president a lot for four years, and i've had my fill. but that i was a chilling moment for me to watch because i perceived for that moment the

dignity of the office, or rather the trappings of dignity and status that falls upon-- rightly falls upon the person who holds that office in that moment. and i saw the way-- or rather i had an emotional flash of all the ways that could be abused over the next four years. were you having a similar feeling in that moment? >> yeah, it was a concern. >> stephen: and were those concerns borne out over the next four years? >> exceeded. >> stephen: thank you. mr. president, we have to take a quick break, but stick around everybody, we'll be right back with president barack obama. ♪ at last my love has come along ♪ my lonely days are over around the world, "why" was searched more than ever. and while we didn't find all the answers, [slow, upbeat music fades in] we kept asking. [voice of a female launch announcer] lift-off! [voice of male narrator] some questions inspired joy. put it on there, and start it up for me. others, exhaustion. [speaking with a british accent] i don't know what an improper fraction is. [voice of leslie jordan] it's still march how many days... in march?

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♪ life is like a song ♪ ♪ >> stephen: hey, everybody. you know him from his netflix deal, but i know him as the 44th

president of the united states, barack obama. all right, congratulations on your new book. >> yes, thank you. >> stephen: by the way. it is-- i'm sorry. this is-- i just carry it with me everywhere i go. have you read this? because this is a good book. >> it's a great book. >> stephen: 10 million copies. >> yes. >> stephen: hard to beat. that's going to be very hard to beat. you're not a competitive guy. >> i've already waved the white flag. >> stephen: okay, good. >> come on, man. >> stephen: i do want to point out-- >> any illusion that i might catch up, it turns out that now that my book is selling. >> stephen: yes. >> they all package it with her book so she keeps on selling more, so i can't-- it's-- it's hopeless. >> stephen: by the way, i am enjoying -- >> thank you. >> stephen: "a promised land." originally you thought it would be done in about two years, i think. and about 500 pages. it's four years. it's 758 pages. and it's only volume one. >> yeah. >> stephen: okay, who will be finished first, you or george

r.r. martin? >> for those of you who don't know the reference, "game of thrones." >> stephen: everyone knows the reference. >> do they. >> stephen: more people from read his books. i'm sorry. very popular. >> the difference is by the time there's a tv show about this, i will have finished. >> stephen: in the book you actually investigated the idea, explored the idea of running for president, even talked to some people about it, before you mentioned it to your wife. first question: what? and follow-up: wow. and then you say, "what do you think of it? if you say no, it's no." and she says no. and then you keep going. ( laughing ) you should write a book about how to get away with that. that's a bestseller. how did you get away with that? and what were you thinking? >> clearly, i was not thinking. well, as i describe, the way

that the conversation around me running for president happens-- and i know that there are a lot of folks who think, "ah, this is all nonsense, he's not playing it straight." but the friend of mine and staff will confirm this-- we were firm about me not running for president because i had just been elected to the u.s. senate. and the notion that i was somehow going to make this leap two years later into launching a presidential campaign did not make sense. but partly because i was, you know, the new shiny object, and, you know, the press was sort of fascinated, intrigued with me as the only african american in the senate. i had given the speech at the democratic national convention. you get this chatter. and i keep on getting asked about it, and we're rebuffing

it, et cetera. but it starts taking on a life of its own, and there comes a point at which i start having serious conversations, you know, with harry reid and other people who are serious leaders of the party saying, "you really should think about it." and it is at that point that i do go to talk to michelle about it. and she does admit her initial response is no. but what i said to her as we still need to think through all the different elements of it. and if at the end of that, you still say no, then it's no. and she sort of changed her mind, kind of. >> stephen: i've read it. she does. >> but what is absolutely true is-- and i've never fully gotten out of the dog house for this-- is that i put her and our kids

through an extraordinarily stressful, difficult sequence in deciding to run for president right after i had just gone through a tough race. and, you know, michelle stayed angry at me about it, you know, it would flare up every so often, but she stayed mad about it through all eight years. and there was a little carryover of the next year and a half tail after that, and i think we've-- you know, she finally sort of forgave me until this interview in which case i think it's brought up all these bad memories. >> stephen: you're welcome. >> and i don't know exactly what i'm going to be facing when i get home. >> stephen: you write this in the book, "this, i was coming to realize, was the nature of the presidency.

sometimes your most important work involved the stuff nobody noticed." what's something nobody still hasn't noticed that you guys did? i'm sorry, i had to speed it up a little bit there. we only have an hour. go ahead. >> by the way, if that was an imitation of me, that was terrible. >> stephen: i play your book back right now and show you that's how slowly you read your book, sir. >> it might be that slow, but it sounds so much better when i do it. anyway-- >> stephen: i'll grant you that. >> we'll move on. >> stephen: i'll grant you that. >> here's a good one. appliances. you didn't think about this much. >> stephen: i did not. >> over the course of my presidency, because of new rules for energy-efficient appliances, taking millions of metric tons

of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking 20 million automobiles off the road annually, because, you know, your fridge runs a little bit better, or your washer-dryer. and i would include, by the way, preparations on things like pandemic, if you were actually paying attention to it. you know, that's the kind of stuff that if you're doing it right, people don't notice. but if you screw up, then it's bad. >> stephen: let's take another quick break. we'll be right back with more president barack obama. ♪ you can feel it all over you can feel it all over ♪ liz, you nerd, cough if you're in here! shh! i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. what about rob's dry cough? works on that too, and lasts 12 hours. 12 hours?! who studies that long? mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> stephen: hey, everybody, we're back with the author of "a promised land," president barack obama. mr. president, you're famous for your competitiveness. would you like to take me on in a game of waste basketball. >> absolutely. >> stephen: all right, let's hit some baskets. >> let me ask you a question: did he practice a lot on this whole wastebasket basketball idea? has he been practicing, like, all month for this. >> stephen: no! would you like to take some practice shots first? would you like to take some

practice shots. >> i don't need practice shots. against you? >> stephen: all right, basket's right over there. inside your thing over here. >> oh, i already have my-- you. >> stephen: already have yours right there. there are 10 paper balls. yours is a yellow legal pad, which i believe is how you wrote your book. >> what is yours? >> stephen: i have blue script paper. >> how come it seems like yours is crumpled up more. >> stephen: because i squeezed them. >> not only did you practice-- look at this one-- look at this one compared to yours. >> stephen: take a moment. take a moment. >> and... >> stephen: do you want to trade balls? >> no, but i just think as a matter of principle, the fact that you didn't... >> stephen: so here it is. it's just 10. >> are we timing this or are you just going to go "10." >> stephen: we can shoot at the same time, if you want. >> i just don't trust you. all right, come on, let's go. >> stephen: do you want to make

it interesting? if-- if i win, you have to mention me in your next book. >> and what if i win. >> stephen: what do you want? >> nobody's going to read your book anyway, so. ( laughter ) it doesn't matter. i'm not going to lose. you ready. >> stephen: how about this: how about i'll make a donation to your library. >> now, that-- that is is worth- - worth-- is this an equal distance, by the way? >> stephen: they measured is out. >> all right. ready? >> stephen: yup. >> we're terrible! ( bell rings ). >> stephen: pressure's on. >> oh! >> stephen: you gotta-- ( bell rings ). >> stephen: oh, no! >> oh, man! ( bell rings ). >> stephen: it's what i do! it's what i do! >> it's not finished yet. how many more have you got? >> stephen: i got five more over here. >> i have to make at least these last three. >> i'm spending all my time

crumpling my balls here. all right. oh! that was so close. ( bell rings ) colbert, i'm getting crushed. ( laughs ) ( bell rings ) oh, man! ( bell rings ) >> oh! oh! ( bell rings ) >> stephen: wooooo! >> i didn't even hit one. how am i going to live this down? hold on a second. i got one more. >> stephen: this is for everything. oh! ( bell rings ) >> stephen: you let me win. >> no, look at me. ( laughter ) all right. >> stephen: that made this my farcht interview of all time. >> yeah, yeah. i will never-- i've lost my swag on "stephen colbert." >> stephen: really, very last question. not even a question, just a statement-- thank you for being president. ♪ ♪

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>> stephen: welcome back. she was nominated for five grammys today and is one of president obama's favorite artists. performing a special cover of "revolution," brittany howard. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> we got a revolution the face of things to come ♪ yeah, the constitution ♪ i'm going to tell you about destruction ♪ you know it's gonna be all right ♪ well, it is now all right.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ some folks are gonna get the notion ♪ well, they say they say i'm preaching hate ♪ well, if i had to swim the ocean ♪ well, you know, i would just to communicate ♪ it ain't as easy as just to say alive ♪ you know it's gonna be all right ♪ well, it is all right

♪ ♪ ♪ oooo, revolution i'm singing about the revolution 'cause i see we got to make a change ♪ it's more than just air pollution ♪ because you know some folks they got to clean their brains ♪ and not a simple fact because you know it's gonna be all right ♪ well it is all right

♪ one, two, three now what do you see now. ♪ four, five, six four, five, six ♪ you know i got to have my stick do your thing. ♪ do your thing whenever you can now ♪ and if you must now all right. ♪ it will be all right ♪ well all right stay alive y'all ♪ do your thing now all right ♪ whenever you can now all right ♪ and if you must now you got to take your stand right now all right ♪ well, all right all right ♪ well, all right well, all right all right ♪ well, all right well, all right

♪ well, all right well, all right now ♪ all right now all right ♪ you gotta do it now stand up now ♪ stand up now >> stephen: brittany howard, everybody.

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help the world believe in holiday magic. and this year was harder than ever. and yet, somehow, you all found a way to pull it off. it's not about the toys or the ornaments but about coming together. santa, santa, you're on mute! just wanted to say thanks. thanks for believing.

>> stephen: james corden is next. good night. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org captioning sponsored by cbs ♪ the late late show, oh, oh the late late show, ooh ♪ the late late show, oh, oh the late late show ♪ oh, oh it's the late late show