As he revealed on Twitter in a trolltastic message to President Donald Trump on Thursday, Stephen Colbert is currently “on assignment” in Russia for an upcoming broadcast of The Late Show. While there, he also made an appearance on the Russian late-night talk show Evening Urgant, where he decided to make a very big announcement—under the assumption no one in the United States would hear about it.
Colbert joined host Ivan Urgant for a game of “Russian roulette” that included vodka shots and pickles, and made a series of toasts—in English—with each drink. “To the beautiful and friendly Russian people,” he said before downing the first shot, “I don’t understand why no members of the Trump administration can remember meeting you.”
Next up, after confirming that the show is “not shown in the United States,” Colbert told Russian viewers, “I am here to announce that I am considering a run for president in 2020, and I thought it would be better to cut out the middleman and just tell the Russians myself.”
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“If anyone would like to work on my campaign in an unofficial capacity,” he added, “please just let me know.”
On the third shot, he went with a more unifying message: “A strong America! A strong Russia!”
In 2007, his Colbert Report alter ego “Stephen Colbert” announced his own presidential campaign, but was denied a place on either the Republican or Democratic primary ballots in his home state of South Carolina. Four years later, he tried again and ended up tied with Herman Cain in fifth place in a poll of that state’s voters.
