US President Donald Trump has demanded that CBS immediately cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, describing the host as a “pathetic trainwreck” and urging the network to “put him to sleep.” In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform late on Tuesday, Trump reacted to a rerun of the programme originally broadcast on December 8, in which Colbert mocked Trump’s recent role as host of the Kennedy Center Honors.
“Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success,” Trump wrote. “Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings. Stephen is running on hatred and fumes ~ A dead man walking! CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do!”
The president also reiterated calls for the US government to revoke broadcast licences for networks he perceives as biased. “If Network NEWSCASTS, and their Late Night Shows, are almost 100% Negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party, shouldn’t their very valuable Broadcast Licenses be terminated? I say, YES!”
The December 8 episode of The Late Show featured Colbert’s satirical commentary on Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center board and his decision to host the honours ceremony. Colbert joked about the president confusing him with fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, and mocked Trump for receiving a fictitious FIFA Peace Prize. “Later that same day, Trump also received the Hooters National Book Award,” Colbert quipped. “It was the breast of times, it was the worst of boobs.”
CBS announced earlier this year that The Late Show will conclude in May 2026, a decision Trump gloated about. However, he now insists the network should axe the programme immediately, claiming its ratings are “nonexistent” and that Colbert is “a dead man walking.”
