President Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social with a scathing post celebrating the end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, calling the host "like a dead person."
Trump's Reaction to Colbert's Final Episode
Unimpressed with the final episode, which aired last night on CBS, the US politician called host Stephen Colbert a "total jerk" who had "no talent, no ratings, no life."
"Colbert is finally finished at CBS," he said on Truth Social. "Amazing that he lasted so long. No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he's finally gone!"
Background of the Show's Cancellation
Network CBS took the decision to cancel The Late Show in July 2025, 10 years after Colbert took over from David Letterman as the host. By cancelling the whole show, the network brought a 33-year franchise to an end.
At the time, bosses claimed the cancellation was "purely a financial decision" due to the "challenging" late night TV environment. They insisted: "It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."
Colbert's Criticism of Trump Settlement
Shortly before the show's cancellation was announced, Colbert had criticised Paramount Global, who own CBS, for agreeing to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over edits made to a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. He called the settlement a "big fat bribe." It came amid a merger between Paramount and Skydance Media that Trump could have stopped.
"I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings," Trump said in 2025.
Trump's History with Late Night Hosts
Colbert is not the only late night show host that the US president has slammed on social media. Trump has also taken aim at Jimmy Kimmel, who joined Colbert on his final show, alongside Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver.
Trump has repeatedly called for Kimmel to be fired from his ABC show Jimmy Kimmel Live!. After the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, Kimmel was briefly taken off air for his remarks about Kirk, an ally of Trump. He returned five days later after his removal sparked criticism from the public, famous faces, and political figures who said it was an infringement of free speech and press freedom.
Following his return, the US president called ABC "a true bunch of losers" and implied he was preparing to "go after them" and sue the broadcaster.
"I can't believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back," Trump said on Truth Social. "The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his 'talent' was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who's not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE."
Final Show Highlights
As well as Kimmel and his other late night colleagues, Colbert was joined by Paul McCartney, who ended the show with a performance of The Beatles' song Hello, Goodbye. The song was performed with Colbert, Jon Batiste, and Elvis Costello. The last moments of the show saw Colbert and McCartney backstage, turning off the lights of The Late Show for good.
