You haven't seen the last of Stephen Colbert yet.

The "Late Show" host, who nabbed an Emmy Saturday night in the outstanding talk series category, beating out competitors like "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and his former home, "The Daily Show," took his speech to share his love for America and his optimism despite a surprising firing announced earlier this year.

"I want to thank CBS for giving us the privilege to be part of the late-night tradition, which I hope continues long after we're no longer doing this show," Colbert said.

Colbert announced in July that Paramount, CBS' parent company, planned to pull the plug on "The Late Show," sparking heated debate in the entertainment industry over whether the decision was a thinly veiled political favor, as Paramount awaited approval for a merger before the Federal Communications Commission. Colbert is a frequent critic of President Trump.

If Colbert felt any of the cynicism, it didn't bleed through in his winner's speech, though.

The comic and political satirist took his moment onstage to dream of bigger ambitions and loudly express a love of country.

"Ten years ago, in September of 2014, Spike Jonze stopped by my office and said, 'Hey, what do you want this show to be about?' And I said, 'Oh, I don’t know how you could do it, but I'd kind of like to do a late-night comedy show that was about love' I don’t know if I ever figured that out, but at a certain point — and you can guess what that point was — I realized that, in some ways, we were doing a late-night comedy show about loss, and that's related to love, because sometimes you can only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it," he said.

"Ten years later, in September of 2025, my friends, I have never loved my country more desperately," he added. "God bless America. Stay strong, be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor."

Colbert's speech was met with a standing ovation, marking his second of the night.

"Is anyone hiring? Because I've got 200 very qualified candidates here tonight who will be available in June," Colbert said during his opening bit at Sunday's Emmys. He came out to announce best actor in a comedy series, but also brought jokes and a headshot from when he was much younger.

"I haven't had a chance to update my headshot in a bit but I think it still works. I think I'm in there somewhere," Colbert quipped. "I only have one (copy). Harrison Ford, can you get this to Spielberg?"

Contributing: Brian Truitt, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stephen Colbert says he's 'never loved my country more' during emotional Emmys speech

Reporting by Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect