Donald Trump denies role in cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show, claims Jimmy Kimmel and Fallon will face similar heat

Donald Trump is not done discussing the cancellation of The Late Show. Days after he had celebrated the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s late-night show on CBS, he took to Truth Social to clarify that he was not the reason behind the show going off air. He even said that after Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon too will face similar heat.

Donald Trump reacts on the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show

While most pointed out that The Late Show was cancelled due to political pressure, Trump said it was due to lack of talent.

“Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night,” Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social, on Tuesday night. “That is not true! 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!”

He added that other late-night shows, including NBC’s The Tonight Show and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, will follow suit. “Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel, and then, a weak, and very insecure, Jimmy Fallon,” Trump wrote. “The only real question is, who will go first? Show Biz and Television is a very simple business. 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.”

Jimmy Kimmel reacts to Trump’s post

Kimmel, who is currently on vacation and has entrusted guest hosts to take over the show in his absence, responded to Trump’s post on Instagram.

“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,” Kimmel wrote.

The Late Show cancelled

Earlier this month, CBS announced it will end The Late Show, hosted by Colbert over the last decade, in May 2026. The channel stated that the decision was purely due to financial issues. “This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” the network said in a statement. “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Colbert has been known to be a vocal critic of Trump and has called the US President often on his show.

Three days prior to the cancellation, the host aired a segment calling out CBS’s parent company, Paramount, for its $16M settlement with Trump, a deal that Colbert dubbed “a big, fat bribe.” The next day, Skydance CEO David Ellison met with the FCC to discuss the company’s proposed merger with Paramount. Following the cancellation, the FCC approved the merger.

Colbert started hosting The Late Show, taking the baton from David Letterman, in 2015. He had earlier hosted the news satire show The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. As of July, Colbert has hosted the show for 10 seasons on CBS.