President Donald Trump marked the end of Stephen Colbert's tenure on CBS's The Late Show with a triumphant post on Truth Social, framing the host's departure as the start of a broader purge of late-night television personalities he has long derided.
"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," Trump wrote Friday. "Others, of even less talent, to soon follow. May they all Rest in Peace!"
Colbert's final broadcast aired Thursday from the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City. The host notably avoided direct attacks on Trump or extensive political commentary during the show, a departure from his usual style. Instead, he was joined by a constellation of fellow late-night figures—Jon Stewart, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and Jimmy Fallon—for a closing skit that featured a giant portal threatening to suck Colbert away. The group joked that they, too, might be next.
The cancellation of The Late Show was announced last summer by Paramount, the media conglomerate now controlled by Trump allies Larry and David Ellison. While Paramount cited financial reasons, critics suspect the move was designed to appease the president, who has repeatedly called for the firing of hosts like Kimmel and Meyers for mocking him and his allies.
In a separate late-night post, Trump lambasted Colbert personally, saying it was "amazing that he lasted so long" and that he had "No talent, no ratings, no life." The president added, "You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he's finally gone!"
Colbert's exit comes amid a broader realignment of media and politics under Trump's second term. The president has used his platform to target critics in the press, and his allies at Paramount have signaled a willingness to reshape programming to align with the administration's priorities. This crackdown on late-night hosts is part of a larger pattern of Trump's clashes with the media, which has included threats to revoke broadcast licenses and calls for prosecution of journalists.
