On Thursday night, Stephen Colbert revealed that CBS has terminated The Late Show. The legendary late-night program, which aired for over 30 years during both Colbert and David Letterman’s hosting periods, is set to conclude in May 2026.

As expected, no one is more pleased about the news than President Donald Trump, whom Colbert regularly critiques. Trump took to Truth Social on Friday morning to revel in the cancellation and express hopes for the fall of other late-night talk show hosts, such as Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.

“I couldn’t be happier that Colbert was fired,” Trump wrote. “His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld [who runs Fox News late-night show Gutfeld!] is superior to all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once-great Tonight Show.”

The announcement comes just days after Colbert delivered a fiery monologue regarding Paramount (CBS’s parent company) reaching a $16 million settlement with Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, claiming “deceitful” editing. CBS News labeled the lawsuit “completely without merit,” a statement which Colbert addressed in his monologue.

“As someone who has long been a proud member of this network, I am offended,” Colbert remarked. “And I’m uncertain if anything will ever restore my trust in this company. But just taking a guess, I’d say $16 million would aid.”

Colbert also highlighted the timing of the settlement, referencing Paramount’s proposed merger with Skydance Media.

“I think this sort of complex financial agreement with a sitting government official has a specific term in legal jargon. It’s ‘big fat bribe,'” Colbert stated. “Because this all occurs as Paramount’s owners are attempting to persuade the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance… And some media commentators are suggesting that once Skydance acquires CBS, the new ownership’s eagerness to appease Trump could ‘put pressure on late-night host and frequent Trump detractor Stephen Colbert.'”

Considering the timing of this monologue and Colbert’s ensuing dismissal, it is difficult not to interpret the cancellation of The Late Show as a sign of CBS yielding to that pressure. Nonetheless, the network asserted in a statement regarding the cancellation that this was not the case, asserting that the decision was more about the downturn in late-night television.

“This is simply a financial choice amid a challenging environment in late night,” the statement reads. “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other occurrences at Paramount.”

According to LateNighter and Nielsen ratings, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is the highest-rated late-night program in its time slot, surpassing both Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

While Trump celebrated The Late Show’s cancellation, other politicians questioned the odd timing of CBS’s action.

On X, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote: “CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump — a deal that resembles bribery. America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”

Senator Adam Schiff, a recent guest on The Late Show himself, posted on X, “If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.”

Meanwhile, Kimmel had a more straightforward reaction to Colbert’s firing, writing in an Instagram story, “Love you Stephen. Fuck you and all your Sheldons CBS.”