Billy Bush visited The Late Show with Stephen Colbert December 4, propelling the show to 3.1/8, a tie for its highest metered market average for a Monday, according to Deadline.
Bush’s visit – the first interview he has given about the Access Hollywood tape with President Donald Trump – follows the publication of his op-ed piece in the New York Times addressing Trump’s recent statements regarding the now-infamous recording of him bragging about sexually assaulting women. Immediately following the tape's reveal in October 2016, Bush was fired from his job as a host of Today. Trump admitted to and apologized for what he said, but the President has recently told people that he does not, in fact, think it is his voice on the recording.
The December 4 episode ties three other nights in which The Late Show achieved the highest local rating on any weeknight since its September 2015 premiere.
Colbert surpassed Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, his competitors in the 11:30 time slot who earned 2.0/5 and 1.9/5 respectively.
Bush talked with Colbert for almost 15 minutes, discussing in detail the moments on the bus as well as explaining why he has now decided to go public.
"By the way, I would also like to say that’s not me on the bus," he said immediately after walking onto the set. "You don't get to say that because I was there and the last 14 months of my life I have been dealing with it. You dealt with it for 14 minutes and went on to be the president."
Trump’s recent denials about the tape "infuriated" Bush, he said, because of his own involvement as well as the many women who had accused Trump of sexual harassment.
"Twenty women don't get together and say, 'You know what would be really fun? Let's take down a powerful guy together.' You're re-opening wounds with them too," he said to audience applause. "Enough is enough. Stop playing around."
Colbert questioned Bush about his participation in the bus ride conversation, describing his behavior as "boorish" and "callow." He also asked the former TV host about his treatment of Trump, which Bush credited to the atmosphere of NBC when Trump was the host of the hit TV show The Apprentice, and everyone "had to sort of kiss the ring a little bit of The Donald because he was making so much money for NBC."
"I sort of equated what he was saying with some kind of crass stand-up act," he said, adding, "If I thought it was a man detailing sexual assault strategy to me, I would have called the FBI, not just reported it to my executive producer."
The success of The Late Show continues to illustrate the public hunger for political satire, with Colbert's ratings increasing following the 2016 election.
In the past year, Kimmel, previously known for his nonpartisan silliness, has focused much more on politics, including a personal story about his newborn child’s health crises and a Twitter fight with Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.
