By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday that more late-night talk shows will depart after he praised the end of CBS's “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
Trump has repeatedly pressured the Federal Communications Commission to strip broadcast networks of their licenses, called on Walt Disney to fire ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel and urged Comcast's NBC to fire host Seth Meyers.
"Stephen Colbert’s firing from CBS was the 'Beginning of the End' for
untalented, nasty, highly overpaid, not funny, and very poorly rated Late Night Television Hosts," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Others, of even less talent, to soon follow. May they all Rest in Peace!"
Colbert hosted what has been the top-rated Late Show for 11 seasons. CBS last year said it was cancelling the "Late Show," citing financial reasons. Late-night television, an American tradition since the 1950s, has been losing viewership and advertising dollars for years.
NBC, CBS and ABC did not immediately comment on Friday.
CBS announced in July that it was cancelling Colbert's show just days after the company's parent agreed to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against the company for $16 million over the editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Days after that, the FCC approved Paramount's $8 billion merger with Skydance.
The decision to end the top-rated late-night talk show sparked an outcry, however, from Democrats and other critics who noted that Paramount was seeking approval for its merger with Skydance at the time of the cancellation. Many critics suggested it was done to curry favor with the administration and saw it as a move to silence political satire in violation of the First Amendment's free speech protection.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said on Wednesday that Trump has been vocal about trying to get programming he dislikes off the air.
"This administration cannot tolerate any critics, whether it's late-night comedies, whether it's 'The View'," Gomez said. "They are using every regulatory lever in their arsenal to go after content."
The FCC is investigating whether ABC's "The View" violated equal time rules for an interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas. CBS in February barred Colbert from airing an interview with Talarico, citing an FCC order in January.
"Donald Trump's administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV," Colbert said at the time.
Last month, Trump cited a joke from Kimmel as grounds for his dismissal, which Disney declined to do. A day later, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr ordered a highly unusual early license review of the company's eight ABC television stations. Disney must file its license renewal applications by May 28.
In September 2025, Carr pressured broadcasters to take Kimmel off the air. ABC briefly suspended Kimmel's show over comments he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Carr's efforts drew sharp criticism from across the political spectrum.
Carr denied Colbert was forced off the air by government pressure. "He's just not as popular or as funny as he once was, if he ever was," Carr told Reuters in March.
When Trump called for NBC's Meyers to be fired in November, Carr reposted it on X.
(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Bill Berkrot)
