“We came to work weak-kneed and watery boweled, and really afraid for the country,” Colbert recalled.

He gathered his staff and they briefly reflected on the path ahead.

One of his writers remarked: “It felt like people who felt the culture had treated them cruelly decided to respond with cruelty in return by electing this person.”

The comedian recalled trying to buck up his show runners: “Well, you’re forever wondering whether your work has purpose. Don’t worry anymore. It does. Because this is terrible. And your job is to make people feel better about it every day.”

This heart-to-heart lasted about half an hour, Colbert said. “Then we went, okay, that’s it. Jokes.”