Donald Trump said he had a message for talk-show nemesis Stephen Colbert before the final episode of The Late Show—but didn’t seem to know what it might be.
Colbert ends his 11-year-run on the CBS late-night show on Thursday night, with the network promising an “extended” finale to run beyond the usual one-hour slot.
The exact runtime and details of guests have yet to be announced.
Also keeping things vague was Trump, who was asked if he had any comments for Colbert ahead of the finale.
“I’ll have a message at a later date,” the 79-year-old president told reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews.
CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show in July last year, just three days after Colbert, 62, slammed the network’s MAGA-friendly parent company, Paramount, for its $16 million settlement with Trump.
“I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles: it’s big, fat bribe,” Colbert said on his show.
CBS said the cancellation was “purely a financial decision” and unrelated to The Late Show‘s performance or content. The show has been running since 1993, with David Letterman serving as host until Colbert took over in 2015.
Speaking to People this week about speculation on the politics behind his show’s axing, Colbert said he had “no fear” of the Trump administration.
“I mean, how silly would it be? The ending of the show aside, which people can speculate about all they want, and I can’t argue with their speculations, but we’re clowns. How much does it diminish the office of the Presidency to even notice what we say?”
While Trump saves his worst insults for his least favorite talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel, he has attacked Colbert many times.
After CBS axed the show last year, Trump weighed in on Truth Social.
“Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night. That is not true! The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE!"
Trump called him a “complete and total loser” in 2024, saying “CBS should terminate his contract and pick almost anyone, right off the street, who would do better, and for FAR LESS MONEY.”
He claimed Colbert was “not funny...not wise” and VERY BORING" and that his show was “dying from a complete lack of viewers.”
Kimmel addressed Colbert’s final episode as part of his Wednesday monologue.
“I think you know how I feel about the fact that [the crew of The Late Show] are being pushed out,” Kimmel said. “I hope the people who did the pushing feel ashamed of themselves tonight, although I know they probably won’t.”
