UPDATED, with additional Trump comment: About an hour after Stephen Colbert signed off on his final Late Show on CBS, Donald Trump posted a note of celebration.
At 1:52 a.m. ET on Friday, the president posted on Truth Social, “Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!”
Later on Friday morning, Trump continued, “Stephen Colbert’s firing from CBS was the ‘Beginning of the End’ for untalented, nasty, highly overpaid, not funny, and very poorly rated Late Night Television Hosts. Others, of even less talent, to soon follow. May they all Rest in Peace! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Trump was a frequent, even nightly, target of Colbert’s humor, and was none too happy about it. Unlike Trump’s predecessors, he has lashed out on social media or called for hosts to be fired.
On Colbert’s final show, though, there were just a few references to Trump, including when guest Paul McCartney talked of getting orange makeup before the Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. The Beatles debut that night occurred in the same theater where The Late Show has broadcast since 1993, starting when David Letterman was host and then Colbert.
CBS has cited financial reasons for ending Colbert’s show, even though it has topped other late night shows in the ratings. The network has denied criticism that it pulled the show to win Trump’s favor, as the decision was announced just as parent Paramount was seeking FCC approval for its acquisition by Skydance.
