Donald Trump tore into “lack of talent” Stephen Colbert in a seething rant where he denied involvement of The Late Show’s cancelation and warned “the other two” are next.
The president wrote on Truth Social Tuesday that ratings for the late-night shows dictate their hosts’ futures, claiming that the outlook for Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon didn’t look good, either.
“Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night. That is not true!” Trump wrote. “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!“
CBS executives said in a statement announcing the cancellation of The Late Show that their decision was a financial one. They also rejected arguments that it had anything to do with CBS’ parent company, Paramount, being on the verge of an acquisition by Skydance —one which the Federal Communications Commission had to approve.
Colbert, who had called Paramount’s settlement with Trump over a 60 Minutes segment on Kamala Harris a “big fat bribe,” would soon be followed out the door by his peers on ABC and NBC, Trump said.
“Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel, and then, a weak, and very insecure, Jimmy Fallon. The only real question is, who will go first?” he wondered.
“Show Biz and Television is a very simple business,” added the former Apprentice fixture. “If you get Ratings, you can say or do anything. If you don’t, you always become a victim. Colbert became a victim to himself, the other two will follow.”
Kimmel shot back later on Instagram, bringing attention back to the president’s relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I know you’re busy Sharpie-ing the Epstein files, but this seems like a weird way to tell people to watch Matt Damon and Ken Jennings on an all-new Who Wants to Be a Millionaire tomorrow night at 8|7c on @ABC,” he joked.
Following The Late Show’s cancellation, Kimmel criticized the network on the same platform: “F--- you and all your Sheldons, CBS.”
Meanwhile, Fallon said he was “shocked” by the news.
A week ago, Trump was on Truth Social treating the notion of their departures as almost inevitable. In that post, though, he wanted credit: “I hope I played a major part in it!”
Ratings-wise, Colbert’s show bested Kimmel and Fallon during the second quarter of this year, with 2.4 million viewers compared to 1.8 million and 1.2 million, respectively—not a good sign for the pair, if Trump is correct.
