Recommendations of the Editorial team
As expected, Donald Trump celebrated the end of the “Late Show” on Thursday – in keeping with his years-long campaign to cancel late-night shows that criticize his government.
“Colbert is finally done at CBS. Amazing he lasted this long!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, about an hour after Stephen Colbert’s final show aired on the East Coast. “No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead man. You could pick anyone off the street and they would be better than this complete idiot. Thank God he’s finally gone!”
White House spokesman David Ingle said earlier in the day: “Stephen Colbert is a miserable total failure with no talent and disastrous ratings – which is exactly why CBS canceled his show and kicked him off the air.”
Fusion as the actual reason
CBS has always justified the cancellation of The Late Show based on costs and ratings – but it has long been reported that the real cause was Skydance’s multi-billion dollar merger with CBS-Paramount, which required government approval. The impending end of The Late Show was announced in July 2025, and the merger was completed in August of that year.
Bruce Springsteen openly hinted at as much during his appearance on The Late Show this week, telling the audience: “I’m here to support Stephen tonight because you’re the first guy in America to lose his show because we have a president who can’t take a joke and because Larry and David Ellison from Skydance think they have to kiss his ass to get what they want.”
Now that Colbert is off the screen, Trump will likely increase his pressure on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to get the show off the air. “When is the ABC Fake News Network firing the hopelessly unfunny Jimmy Kimmel?” Trump wrote on Truth Social on April 30. Kimmel was “incompetently leading one of the worst-rated shows on television,” the president further claimed, threatening: “People are angry. It better happen soon!!!”
