Trump didn’t hold back.
President Donald Trump celebrated the end of Stephen Colbert’s late-night run this week after CBS officially aired the final episode of “The Late Show,” bringing an end to more than a decade of anti-Trump comedy and political commentary.
Trump reacted Friday morning on Truth Social, criticizing the longtime host while arguing that viewers had grown tired of partisan late-night television.
Trump celebrated Colbert’s departure from CBS in a Truth Social post, saying he was surprised the host remained on the air for so many years and arguing that the program struggled with both viewership and entertainment value. He added that he was glad the show had finally come to an end.
The final episode aired Thursday night, closing out Colbert’s 11-season tenure after CBS announced the cancellation last year. Network executives previously described the decision as a financial move amid changing television habits and declining late-night ratings across the industry.
Colbert took over the iconic program in 2015 after the retirement of David Letterman. Over the years, however, the show increasingly shifted toward political activism and nightly criticism of Trump and conservatives.
During his farewell monologue, Colbert thanked viewers and staff members while reflecting emotionally on the show’s long run.
“This show has been a joy for us to do for you,” Colbert said. “We love doing the show for you, but what we really love is doing the show with you.”
Despite keeping politics mostly subdued during the finale itself, anti-Trump rhetoric still surfaced throughout the final week of programming.
Rock star Bruce Springsteen appeared during Wednesday’s episode and defended Colbert while taking shots at Trump and Paramount leadership.
“I’m here in support tonight for Stephen,” Springsteen told the audience. “Because you’re the first guy in America who’s lost his show because we’ve got a president who can’t take a joke.”
For years, “The Late Show” became known as a platform heavily dominated by left-leaning politicians, celebrity activists, and media figures critical of Trump. According to media watchdog NewsBusters, Colbert hosted 176 liberal guests between 2022 and mid-2025 while featuring only one conservative guest during that same period.
That imbalance fueled criticism from many Americans who believed late-night comedy had stopped trying to entertain broad audiences and instead became an extension of partisan political media.
Trump frequently mocked Colbert’s ratings and performance during the show’s final months, arguing that viewers were tuning out politically charged entertainment.
The farewell episode featured appearances from several Hollywood celebrities, including Paul Rudd, Bryan Cranston, Tim Meadows, Ryan Reynolds and Tig Notaro. Fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver also appeared in support of Colbert.
The night concluded with music legend Paul McCartney returning to the historic Ed Sullivan Theater stage where The Beatles famously performed in 1964. McCartney joined Colbert and other performers for a rendition of “Hello Goodbye” to close the show.
For many conservative viewers, the cancellation of “The Late Show” represents more than the end of a television program. It reflects a growing frustration with entertainment outlets that many believe abandoned mainstream America in favor of one-sided political messaging.
As traditional late-night television struggles to maintain audiences in the streaming era, networks across the industry now face mounting pressure to reconnect with viewers looking for entertainment rather than nightly political lectures.
