Emmys Host Stephen Colbert: President Trump Is the ‘Biggest TV Star of the Year’

Just ahead of hosting the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, host and comedian Stephen Colbert said Sunday he already knows who the biggest star in television is this year — President Donald Trump.

“The biggest TV star of this year is undoubtedly Donald Trump,” Colbert told CBS News. “No one’s close. You know, how like the Bible outsells every book of all time. Donald Trump is the Bible of the 2016-2017 television season. If you don’t include Donald Trump as a TV star this year, you’re lying.”

Of course, Trump himself is not nominated for an Emmy Award — but Alec Baldwin, who portrayed the president on Saturday Night Live last season, is nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and news about Trump and his administration has dominated broadcast news networks. (Trump’s reality series, The Apprentice, was nominated in 2004 and 2005 for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program.)

Colbert has seen his ratings on Late Night with Stephen Colbert skyrocket this year as he emerged as one of the most outspoken late-night television critics of the president. This year will be Colbert’s first time hosting a major awards show, and Late Night is nominated for two Emmys — Outstanding Variety Talk Series and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. Colbert’s election night coverage is also nominated for Outstanding Variety Special and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.

And losing doesn’t appear to be a concern for Colbert.

“Well, it’s an honor. It’s an honor to host the Emmys. And it’s fun because if you lose, you still have something to do. You know,” Colbert told CBS News. “Same reason I liked waiting tables on New Year’s Eve. If I didn’t like the party, I still had a job.”