Trump Calls for Stephen Colbert’s Show to Be Taken Off Air, Attacks Late-Night TV

US President Donald Trump has intensified his criticism of American late-night television, calling on CBS to remove comedian Stephen Colbert from the air immediately, using unusually harsh rhetoric in a series of social media posts.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump described Colbert as a “pathetic trainwreck” and said the network would be doing a “humanitarian thing” by taking him off screens without delay. The remarks came months after CBS announced that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would be cancelled in May 2026 due to financial pressures in the late-night television industry.

Trump claimed that Colbert’s programme was operating on “hatred and fumes” and alleged that its ratings had collapsed. He also accused major broadcast networks of being overwhelmingly negative toward him, the MAGA movement and the Republican Party.

“If network newscasts and late-night shows are almost 100% negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party, shouldn’t their very valuable broadcast licenses be terminated?” Trump wrote, answering his own question in the affirmative.

The President extended his criticism to other networks, including ABC and NBC, targeting their late-night programming and hosts, whom he accused of drawing high salaries while delivering low viewership.

CBS had announced in July that it would cancel The Late Show, citing economic challenges facing traditional television and declining advertising revenues. The decision sparked controversy, with critics questioning the timing, which followed a legal settlement between Trump and Paramount Global, CBS’s parent company. Paramount denied any political motivation, stating that the decision was purely financial.

Colbert’s final episode is scheduled for May 2026.

Trump has had a long-running and public feud with late-night hosts. In September, his administration also moved to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s programme following remarks related to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. However, after legal challenges and public backlash, the show returned to air, and Kimmel later signed a new contract with Walt Disney Company, extending his run through 2027.

The latest comments have reignited debate in the US over freedom of expression, political satire, and the relationship between media organisations and elected officials.