Stephen Colbert produces four new Late Show episodes per week that regularly take jabs at Donald Trump. But it was a PBS interview about his cookbook that managed to enrage the former president on Tuesday night.
One day after calling out Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania, Trump doubled down with a new attack on Colbert. On Tuesday night, Trump took to Truth Social to type out his latest rant on the state of late night.
“I briefly watched an interview of Stephen Colbert on highly government subsidized PBS, and found it fascinating for only one reason—Why would they be wasting time and the public’s money on this complete and total loser?,” Trump scrawled on the platform just before midnight. “He is not funny, which he gets paid far too much to be, he is not wise, he is VERY BORING, and his show is dying from a complete lack of viewers[.]”
Trump’s screed, and his all-caps allegation of Colbert being “boring” in particular, appeared to be a direct response to Colbert’s comments about the former president during his appearance on PBS News Hour. The host was interviewed alongside his wife Evie McGee Colbert about their new cookbook, Does This Taste Funny?.
In the interview, Colbert was asked if he’d ever have Trump back on The Late Show (he previously guested in 2016).
“I’ve had him before and he was kind of boring, so no,” Colbert stated matter-of-factly. He then went on to explain exactly what he found boring about Trump.
“I don’t like to have people on the show who I don’t think are going to be honest agents of their own ideas,” Colbert said. “Politicians always represent an idea. So if I think a politician is disingenuous—and not to point out Mr. Trump specifically, because there are many politicians I wouldn’t want to talk to that I think do not honestly represent what they actually believe, but are rather just playing to a crowd. And so that’s just no fun.”
If Trump heard that quote, he likely heard what came after it. Journalist Amna Nawaz noted that The Late Show is currently No. 1 in late night, though it would seem Trump disputes that point.
“Gutfeld, on cable, is killing him!” Trump continued in his Truth Social rant, despite the fact that Gutfeld! doesn’t air against The Late Show—nor does the Fox News program air in a true late-night time slot (it airs at 10 p.m ET/7 p.m. PT)
“CBS should terminate [Colbert’s] contract and pick almost anyone, right off the street, who would do better, and for FAR LESS MONEY,” he added. “Or I could recommend someone, much more talented, and smarter, who would do it for FREE!” (Trump didn’t specify who he had in mind, though many people read the comment as Trump offering up his own services for the job.)
Of course, Trump couldn’t leave without taking one more parting shot at Fallon and Kimmel. “The good news for Stephen is that the two DOPES on NBC & ABC are not much better than him!,” he wrote to cap off his diatribe.
It’s a safe bet that Colbert will address Trump’s attack on tonight’s Late Show, much like Kimmel responded to Trump’s earlier attack on last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel & Jimmy Fallon are Comedy TREASURES!
TRUMP IS A WHINY LITTLE BITCH. ‘NUF SAID.
The smartest thing he could do is fake his own death and go live in some crappy country far from here. There are enough parodies/imitators around that the rallies could continue and the fools would never notice.
I think he wants to lose, actually. Less work.