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Donald Trump reacted to the end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with a scathing social media post just hours after the show aired its final episode on CBS.
The longtime late-night program officially ended on May 21 after more than three decades on air, dating back to David Letterman's debut in 1993. But while the finale featured celebrity appearances, music performances and emotional farewells, Trump focused his attention on criticizing host Stephen Colbert.
Posting on Truth Social at around 1:52 a.m., roughly an hour after the episode ended, Trump wrote, "Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long!"
The president continued his criticism by calling the comedian a "total jerk" and adding, "No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he's finally gone!"
CBS announced last year that the network would not renew The Late Show, saying the decision was based on financial reasons. The cancellation came shortly after Colbert criticized Paramount Global — CBS's parent company — over its $16 million settlement with Trump regarding a dispute tied to a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
At the time, Colbert mocked the settlement on air, saying, "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.'"
Trump had celebrated the cancellation when it was first announced in 2025, writing then that he "absolutely" loved seeing Colbert fired and claiming his "talent was even less than his ratings."
Despite the controversy surrounding the show's ending, Colbert's final episode leaned heavily into celebration and nostalgia. The finale featured appearances from celebrities including Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Ryan Reynolds and Paul McCartney.
McCartney closed out the show with a performance of The Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye," joined by Elvis Costello and Jon Batiste during the emotional final moments.
Colbert recently acknowledged that the show's end arrived sooner than expected but said he was ready to move forward. "You can't do this forever," he told PEOPLE in a recent interview. "You have to think about, well, when is the right time to end your tenure?"
