Donald Trump Threatens "Pathetic" Stephen Colbert — "A Dead Man Walking"
There has been speculation that the President pressured CBS to cancel his show.
Published Dec. 24 2025, 2:18 p.m. ET
The petulant President of the United States, Donald Trump, had a late-night rant on social media on Dec. 23, 2025, and the target of his fury was late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert. The comedian hosts The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS, and it was canceled over the summer by the network.
Stephen is a staunch critic of Trump, and there has been speculation that the president pressured CBS to cancel the show, per PBS News. Trump's latest rant openly threatens the comedian, and it clearly shows that he has no love for Stephen or his talk show.
Trump threatens Stephen Colbert in late-night-rant.
Despite The Late Show with Stephen Colbert already being canceled, Trump took to social media to insult the comedian and called for the network to "put him to sleep."
"Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success," he began.
"Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings," Trump continued. "Stephen is running on hatred and fumes ~ A dead man walking! CBS should, 'put him to sleep,' NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do!"
Is Stephen Colbert's show still on the air?
Yes, Stephen Colbert is still on the air, for now. After CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, it was announced that the late-night talk show would run until May 2026.
Trump wasn't done ranting about Stephen after he called for him to be euthanized, and he made sure to insult his talk show as well.
"Who has the worst Late Night host, CBS, ABC, or NBC??? They all have three things in common," wrote Trump. "High Salaries, No Talent, REALLY LOW RATINGS!"
The clearly deranged POTUS also claimed that all networks should cancel late-night talk shows that are 100 percent negative to Trump, Republicans, and MAGA.
"If Network NEWSCASTS, and their 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? I say, YES!"
Folks were shocked by Trump's post, including former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann. Keith shared Trump's post on X with the caption, "If anybody still cares about laws and morality: this is a death threat by Trump against Stephen Colbert. If YOU posted this the FBI would visit you."
"It’s a dog whistle… at least," replied another X user. "That’s very dangerous these days. And Trump knows it."
Other folks thought the X post was less alarming and more ridiculous.
"In Trump speak, that means Colbert is more talented and successful than I will ever be, so CBS needs to take him off so everyone can see how great I am."
"How far has America fallen? No other president would have posted this bile ever, let alone while in office," noted another X user.
Trump's posts were reportedly due to a rerun of Stephen's Dec. 8 show that aired again on Dec. 23.
The comedian joked about Trump renaming the Kennedy Center Honors and taking over as the host.