Stephen Colbert had some alternative phrases for U.S. President Donald Trump throughout Monday’s opening monologue on The Late Present, following the information of the present’s cancellation. The present will finish in Could 2026.
“Over the weekend it sunk in that they’re killing off our present however they made one mistake: they left me alive,” Colbert mentioned, wanting immediately into the digicam.
“And now for the subsequent 10 months, the gloves are off. I can lastly communicate unvarnished fact to energy and say what I actually take into consideration Donald Trump, beginning proper now.”
Colbert mentioned he doesn’t “look after” Trump, including that he doesn’t assume he has “the talent set to be president” and isn’t “a very good match.”
The late-night host went on to learn Trump’s submit celebrating the choice to cancel the present on Reality Social final Friday, writing, “I completely love that Colbert bought fired. His expertise was even lower than his rankings.”
Colbert mentioned into the “Eloquence Cam”: “How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man have the ability to compose the next satirical witticism? Go f— your self.”
Colbert additionally famous that Trump’s submit talked about his fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
“I hear Jimmy Kimmel is subsequent,” Trump wrote. “Has even much less expertise than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is healthier than all of them mixed, together with the Moron on NBC who ruined the as soon as nice Tonight Present.”
A screenshot of Donald Trump’s submit on Reality Social.
@RealDonaldTrump / Reality Social
Colbert went on to joke that nobody was going to take this second away from him.
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“Nope, no, no. Completely not,” he mentioned. “Kimmel, I’m the martyr. There’s solely room for one on this cross. And I bought to inform you, the view is improbable from up right here. I can see your home!”
Colbert additionally addressed the assertion from Paramount and CBS executives about the present’s cancellation, calling it “purely a monetary choice in opposition to a difficult backdrop in late evening.”
“How might it purely be a monetary choice if The Late Present is primary in rankings? It’s complicated. A variety of of us are asking that query. Primarily my workers, mother and father and partner,” Colbert mentioned.
“Properly, over the weekend, someone at CBS adopted up their gracious press launch with a gracious nameless leak saying they pulled the plug on our present due to losses pegged between $40 million and $50 million a 12 months,” he continued, pointing to a report from the New York Publish.
Colbert mentioned that $40 million is a “huge quantity.”
“I might see us dropping $24 million however the place would Paramount have probably spent the opposite $16 million? Oh yeah,” he mentioned, hinting at Paramount’s choice to settle Trump’s lawsuit in opposition to CBS over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
Colbert beforehand referred to as Paramount’s US$16-million cost to Trump a “huge fats bribe,” because the firm is searching for the administration’s approval of its merger with Skydance Media.
On Friday, the Writers Guild of America referred to as for an investigation by New York’s legal professional normal into whether or not Colbert’s cancellation is itself a bribe, “sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump administration as the corporate appears for merger approval.”
By Monday, The Late Present was on the centre of a protest from followers who had been exterior the Ed Sullivan Theater, chanting, “Colbert stays! Trump should go!”
Individuals take part in a protest titled ‘Colbert stays! Trump should go!’ exterior the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York Metropolis on July 21, 2025.
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP through Getty Photos
Dozens of anti-Trump protesters gathered exterior the Ed Sullivan Theater, dwelling of ‘The Late Present with Stephen Colbert,’ to protest CBS’s reported choice to fireplace the longtime host. Demonstrators held indicators and chanted in assist of Colbert, blaming political stress and criticizing the community’s transfer as a blow to free speech and satire.
Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu through Getty Photos
— With information from The Related Press
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‘The Late Present With Stephen Colbert’ airs weeknights on World TV at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT.
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