Late-night host Stephen Colbert fired back at President Donald Trump on Monday night with an expletive-laden response after Trump mocked the cancelation of his CBS show.
“Go f— yourself,” Colbert said bluntly, staring into the camera during a segment he titled the “Eloquence Cam,” drawing loud applause from his studio audience.
His remarks came days after Trump celebrated the impending end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which CBS announced last week would wrap up in May 2026. In a statement, the network described the decision as “purely financial,” citing challenges in the late-night TV landscape and asserting that the cancelation was unrelated to Colbert’s performance or content.
CBS also said Colbert, who has hosted the show since 2015, is “irreplaceable” and praised his contributions to late-night television.
Incredible, the average age of a Stephen Colbert viewer is reportedly 68. pic.twitter.com/o0ni1PXTSZ
— @gen0m1cs (@gen0m1cs) July 22, 2025
The timing of the announcement raised speculation, as it came just days after Colbert criticized CBS’s parent company over a $16 million settlement with Trump, which he called a “big, fat bribe” tied to the network’s merger with Skydance.
Some critics suggested the cancelation was political retaliation, but reports indicate that Colbert’s show was losing the network around $40 million a year while employing more than 200 staffers.
Trump, never one to miss a chance to gloat, mocked Colbert on Truth Social after the announcement. “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,” Trump wrote. “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”
After making jokes about how his show loses $50 million a year, Colbert responds to President Trump mocking his show being cancelled by telling him “go fuck yourself.” pic.twitter.com/0rgKrCBRn4
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 22, 2025
Colbert, in turn, addressed Trump directly on-air. “How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism?” he said before delivering his unfiltered message.
He also brushed off Trump’s speculation about Jimmy Kimmel being next on the chopping block, joking, “Nope, no, no. Absolutely not. Kimmel, I am the martyr. There’s only room for one on this cross. And the view is fantastic from up here. I can see your house!”
