Donald Trump Slams 'Total Jerk' Stephen Colbert and Compares Departing 'Late Show' host to a 'Dead Person' in Final Blast
Donald Trump took a brutal parting shot at Stephen Colbert on Truth Social as he bowed out of 'The Late Show.'
May 22 2026, Published 8:27 a.m. ET
Donald Trump delivered a brutal parting shot at Stephen Colbert while celebrating the end of The Late Show.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the president took to Truth Social to vent his feelings towards Colbert, calling the legendary presenter "a total jerk."
'No Talent, No Ratings, No Life'
Trump wildly celebrated the end of Colbert's reign.
He ranted: "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."
Trump added: "Thank goodness he’s finally gone!"
CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show in July last year, with Colbert having helmed the show for 11 seasons. Previously, the program had been fronted by David Letterman.
'I Absolutely Love Colbert Got Fired'
Colbert waved to fans before show's final episode.
"I absolutely love that Colbert (sic) got fired," Trump wrote on Truth Social in July 2025, referencing the news of the show's cancelation. "His talent was even less than his ratings."
At the time, CBS described the cancellation as "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," the statement continued.
Colbert had previously criticised a settlement between Paramount Global, CBS’s parent company, and Trump. The former agreed to pay the latter $16million to settle a lawsuit over edits made to a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Teasing Pope's Cancelation
Colbert joked Pope Leo was supposed to be his final guest.
Colbert described the settlement as a "big fat bribe."
"As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended," Colbert joked. "And I don't know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company, but just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16million would help."
At the time, Paramount and Skydance Media were navigating a huge merger, which later went ahead.
During the final episode of The Late Show which aired on Thursday night, Colbert joked that he was meant to be joined by Pope Leo XIV to bring the franchise’s 33-year run to an end.
"The Pope, who was definitely my guest tonight, has canceled," he said. "We already sent the other stars away. This is terrible.
"Who's going to be my last guest now?"
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Sir Paul McCartney joined Colbert for a final song to mark the end of the show.
Colbert was joined by legendary musician Sir Paul McCartney, who reminisced about the early days of The Beatles performing at the Ed Sullivan Theater, where The Late Show was filmed.
The show also featured a mashup of surprise cameos from Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, Tig Notaro, and Ryan Reynolds, all of whom thought they were going to be Colbert's final guest.
Viewers saw his fellow Strike Force Five late-night hosts — Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver — make an appearance having all raced to support Colbert when the Late Show was axed.
Colbert, McCartney, Elvis Costello, Jon Batiste, and Louis Cato sang a rendition of Hello Goodbye in the final moments of the program.
