Donald Trump posted his reaction to CBS announcing the upcoming cancelation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The president said he was saddened by the company’s decision to end such an iconic series, and added that even though Colbert frequently mocked and criticized him over the years, that he nonetheless respected Colbert as media professional and wished him the best of luck moving forward.
Kidding.
Trump positively gloated (as we predicted he would), and took shots at ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel and NBC host Jimmy Fallon while he was at it.
“I absolutely love that Colbert got fired,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday morning. “His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! [Fox News late night host] Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”
CBS announced on Thursday that The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will wrap its run in May 2026, following the 2025-26 broadcast season.
Colbert told the show’s live audience during the taping of Thursday’s show at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York. In a statement, CBS said the cancellation was “purely a financial decision” made in a declining linear TV landscape.
The announcement also comes as CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, is hoping to close a merger with Skydance in the next few months. The company recently settled a lawsuit filed last year by Donald Trump (before he was elected to a second term as president) over a 60 Minutes interview with Trump’s election opponent, Kamala Harris. The settlement is widely seen as helping the merger’s chances for approval by the FCC under the Trump administration — and which Colbert criticized upon his return from a hiatus earlier this week. In its statement, CBS said that wasn’t a factor in the decision.
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” reads a statement from Paramount co-CEO and CBS president and CEO George Cheeks, CBS Entertainment head Amy Reisenbach and CBS Studios president David Stapf. “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television. This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
— Rick Porter contributed to this report