‘People Are Still Freaking Out!’ CNN’s Abby Phillip Tells Colbert About ‘Silent Scream’ Among Dems After Biden’s ABC Interview

CNN anchor Abby Phillip was in the hot seat during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , which put her in the position of being asked about her own reactions to the news she covers — namely the now-infamous presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump .

Host Stephen Colbert asked Phillip about what was going on that night on the CNN set, which the anchor described thusly:

Phillip: Well, I was sitting on the set , and I was sitting next to David Axelrod . I had Anderson [ Cooper ] next to me, Van Jones , a few other people, Kate Bedingfield , who used to work for Joe Biden. And probably, I would say within a couple of seconds, we all were just looking at each other in silence. Kind of like, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

Colbert: And what were you seeing?

Phillip: It was…

Colbert: Keep in mind that I can say out loud I’m a huge fan of the guy, and you can’t say that because you’re impartial.

Phillip: It was just very clear within a few seconds that this was going to be a rough night for the president.

Colbert: Something was not right.

Phillip: Something was was not right. And someone said, “Uh oh.” And then we just continued to watch and waited to see what happened.

Colbert: Did that someone say it into your mirror when you got home? Or was this someone else on the panel?

Phillip: This was someone else on the set.

Colbert then asked about what Phillip heard about Biden’s follow-up to his disastrous performance at the debate, his interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos :

Colbert: I’m going to use a term that I really shouldn’t because I’m not in the news, but what do your sources tell you? What do your sources tell you about the low-level mutiny among Democrats on Capitol Hill? Did this help?

Phillip: I think that it helped for some people who wanted it to help. But for many more people, there is, like, the silent scream on the inside. I think people are still really nervous. And I actually got a call, I mean, I got a call the next day from a Democratic source who’s not on the Hill, but someone who’s very well connected. And the sentiment was basically, this is so bad.

Colbert: After the Stephanopoulos interview.

Phillip: This is after the Stephanopoulos interview. So people are, from what I’m hearing, people are still freaking out. People are still freaking out about both Biden staying on the ticket and what could happen if he doesn’t, because that alternative is, for some people, just as scary as the prospect of Biden staying on the ticket.

Colbert then asked if Biden’s Monday call to MSNBC’s Morning Joe as well as his letter to Congressional Democrats vowing to stay in the race signaled the end of the questions about his viability as a presidential candidate. Phillip answered: “No, no, not at all. I mean, not at all. … It’s like a slow moving roller coaster.”

Watch the video above via The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on YouTube .