Obama surprises Stephen Colbert when asked if he should run for president

With the race to become the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president in two years time remaining wide open, President Obama has thrown a curveball into the political process.

Speaking to the Late Show's Stephen Colbert in a pre-recorded interview at his presidential center a month before it opens to the public, Obama gave a surprising answer to the host who admitted he was 'looking for a new gig soon,' with the talk show coming to an end May 21 - after three decades on our screens.

'A lot of people tell me I should run for president,' Colbert, 61, joked to the most-liked former Commander-in-Chief still living. But rather than dismissing the comment, the two-time president took him seriously, if only to make a dig at his successor.

When Colbert asked if he thought it was a 'dumb' idea for a TV personality to throw their hat in the ring to become the most powerful person on Earth, Obama coyly replied: “Well, you know, the bar has changed."

The former president backed up his comment, saying: “Let me put it this way. I think that you could perform significantly better than some folks that we’ve seen.”

Though Obama did not call out Trump by name, the audience took his meaning and erupted into applause, while the 64-year-old former world leader confirmed he was serious, adding: “I have great confidence in that.”

However, when Colbert pressed the biggest name in the Democratic Party on whether that comment was an endorsement for his campaign, Obama confirmed that it was not.

But either way, come May 21, Colbert will indeed be looking for new ways to fill out his schedule, thanks to the heavily-criticized decision in July last year to end CBS' Late Show after a 33-year run.

This decision, of course, came as CBS' parent company Paramount was seeking the administration's approval for a multi-billion merger with Skydance, owned by Trump ally Larry Ellison's son David.

While executives have repeatedly called the decision to axe Colbert as 'purely financial', on Tuesday, the previous host of the late night slot, David Letterman, shared what he thought about that explanation.

Speaking to the New York Times, the man who fronted the Late Show for 22 years admitted that social media had reduced the power of talk show hosts in public life, but added: "I don’t think it’ll ever go away because it’s just the best. It’s humans talking to humans.”

He was also surprisingly frank about why Colbert had been shooed out of the job so unceremoniously, amid his usually stringent criticisms of the president.

Letterman argued: “He was dumped because the people selling the network to Skydance said, ‘Oh no, there’s not going to be any trouble with that guy. We’re going to take care of the show. We’re just going to throw that into the deal. When will the ink on the check dry?’

“I’m just going to go on record as saying: They’re lying.”

With Colbert only having a handful of late night appearances before his show goes off the air, President Obama had some final words of advice for the man who has spent 20 years skewering politicians.

“Thank you for everything that you have done," Obama said. "I know we’ve only got a few shows left, but I know you’re gonna make them count, because you always have.”