Following the shocking cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, politics continues to interfere with late-night television shows, as President Donald Trump warns that Jimmy Kimmel Live may soon suffer a similar fate. Though CBS insisted that removing Stephen Colbert’s Show was “merely a financially-driven decision,” Donald Trump took to social media to express his joy. “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. He has even less talent than Colbert,” the President wrote.
President Trump continued criticizing Jimmy Fallon, referring to him as “the moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.” Jimmy Fallon responded to Trump’s comments on himself and his talk show by posting a photo to Instagram of his entire family attending the No Kings Day protest where they are all wearing anti-Trump shirts and holding signs that read, “Don’t bend the knee,” “Make America Good Again.” The signs featured a drawing of President Trump in a crown, with slogans that said, “I wish we had a better president,” and “Say No 2 Spray Tan Man.” The No Kings Day demonstrations push back against Trump’s increasingly authoritarian overreach.
Jimmy Kimmel captioned the photo, “Summer family vacation! #good trouble May every day be another wonderful secret.” The caption includes a line from the reportedly lewd “Birthday letter” that Trump allegedly wrote to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Many theorize that the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert was politically motivated, as it came three days after the talk show host criticized Paramount for its recent $16 million settlement with Trump. The president alleged that CBS News’s 60 Minutes “deceptively edited” an interview with his 2024 presidential opponent, Kamala Harris. However, many people presume the settlement was a tactic to appease Donald Trump –who famously never forgets a grudge–amid his ongoing assault on critics.
In a statement from CBS, the network said their decision to cut Stephen Colbert’s beloved Late Show was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.” The network noted the cancellation was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.” Still, President Trump’s latest attack on Jimmy Kimmel shows his intolerance for dissent, as both Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert are outspoken Trump critics.
