The Emmy Awards all but assured the world they would put politics before art when they hired “Late Show” star Stephen Colbert to host the 2017 ceremony.

The awards extravaganza delivered exactly what no one needed — another night that revolved almost entirely around putdowns of the president of the United States.

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Colbert has been enjoying a ratings comeback thanks to his increasingly anti-Trump humor — which is clearly why he took less than a minute to mention the president on Sunday night.

“Thanks for tuning in! Looking forward to the tweets!” Colbert said in a direct message to the president, after saying no one except Trump could find the time to watch 450 TV shows.

He also said, “The biggest TV star of the year is Donald Trump. And Alec Baldwin, obviously. You guys are neck and neck. And you’re up against a lot of neck.” What’s interesting about this, of course, is that people like Colbert are the ones making Trump the “biggest TV star.” Colbert’s entire act is fueled by anti-Trump hysteria, night after night.

“Every show is influenced by Donald Trump in some way. Next year’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’ will be hosted by Sheriff Joe Arpaio,” joked the late-night host — which is funny but not in the way Colbert intended it to be. People are sick and tired of a constant barrage of criticism, remarks, jokes and comments about or against Trump. Maybe instead of a night consisting largely of political bashing and tired rehashes of unoriginal jokes already seen on social media — the Emmys could have tried actually celebrating art.

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Instead, Colbert was hired — and he proved Sunday night that he is a one-trick pony through and through.

And yet Colbert’s “comedy” was just the start.

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“Saturday Night Live,” a series that now dedicates nearly every second to worn-out Trump insults, won multiple awards on Sunday night, including Emmys for Outstanding Comedy Series and Best Actress and Actor in a Comedy Series.

Alec Baldwin won for his impersonation of Trump, which has led to a career resurgence for someone once plagued with bad press. “At long last, Mr. President, here is your Emmy,” said the actor. But he didn’t stop there: “I want to thank my wife — my wife and I had three children in three years, and we didn’t have a child last year during the ‘SNL’ season. I wonder if there is a correlation there — you put that orange wig on, it’s birth control, trust me.”

Kate McKinnon won the Best Actress statue for her impersonation of Hillary Clinton on the show. “I want to say thank you to Hillary Clinton, for your grace,” she said before leaving the stage.

Others to go political in their acceptance speeches included Donald Glover, star of FX’s “Atlanta.” “I want to thank Trump for making black people number one on the most oppressed list,” the actor said. 

“I want to thank Trump for making black people number one on the most oppressed list.”

Naturally, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, star of HBO’s “Veep,” joined in. “We had a whole storyline about an impeachment, but we were worried someone else might get to it first,” she said. 

On the positive side of things (yes, there were actually a few positive things to happen), actress Ann Down won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for “A Handmaid’s Tale.” Her acceptance speech was humble and genuine — from an artist who has spent a lifetime in the trenches of the industry.

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Nicole Kidman, who won for the HBO series “Big Little Lies,” used her acceptance speech to highlight the issue of domestic violence.

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Imagine if the whole night had taken such a tone. Imagine if these actors and other creative individuals gave the hysteria about the president a rest — and instead celebrated hard-working artists and highlighted serious and important issues.

Instead, most celebrities flubbed yet another opportunity for good — and took the easy road by predictably using their platform to obsess over and bash the president of the United States. Sad.

(photo credit, article image: Youtube)