A Christmas Eve storm of fury erupted as former President Trump unleashed a scathing attack on late-night host Stephen Colbert, fueled by a recent rerun of a segment critical of his performance at the Kennedy Center Honors. The outburst, delivered via his Truth Social platform, left little room for holiday cheer.
Trump didn’t hold back, branding Colbert a “pathetic trainwreck” devoid of talent and predicting a swift demise for his show. He demanded CBS cancel the program immediately, framing it as a “humanitarian thing to do.” The vitriol extended beyond a single show, encompassing the entire landscape of late-night television.
He questioned the value of Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, lamenting their “high salaries” and “really low ratings.” Trump went further, suggesting the government should consider stripping broadcasters of their licenses if they continued to air what he deemed relentlessly negative programming about him and his political allies.
The initial spark for this outburst was a monologue from a December 8th episode that re-aired, where Colbert playfully mocked Trump’s role at the Kennedy Center Honors, suggesting the President might be distracted by theatrical commitments while global crises unfolded. Colbert had previously aired an animated segment portraying Trump canceling Christmas and dismantling Santa’s workshop.
This isn’t a new feud. Trump openly celebrated the news of Colbert’s show cancellation in May 2026, declaring his “talent was even less than his ratings.” He even predicted Jimmy Kimmel would be next, praising Fox News host Greg Gutfeld as a superior talent.
The conflict runs deeper than simple comedic jabs. Colbert had previously been highly critical of a $16 million settlement between Paramount Global, CBS’s parent company, and Trump regarding a deceptively edited 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, labeling it a “big fat bribe” and expressing a loss of trust in the network.
CBS maintains the cancellation of *The Late Show* was a “purely financial decision” driven by the challenges facing late-night television, dismissing any connection to the show’s content or performance. However, Trump’s reaction suggests a personal victory in a long-running battle.
The animosity isn’t limited to Colbert. Trump has repeatedly attacked Jimmy Kimmel, demanding ABC remove him from the air and labeling him a “bum.” Kimmel responded with a pointed offer: he’d step down if Trump resigned, proposing they exit the public stage together, “like Butch Cassidy and the Suntan Kid.”
Despite the escalating rhetoric, Trump concluded his Christmas Eve tirade with a terse, almost jarring, “MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!” – a final punctuation mark on a deeply divisive exchange.
