Stephen Colbert; Donald Trump.Credit : Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty; Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty 

NEED TO KNOW

In a post on his Truth Social platform around midnight on Dec. 24, President Donald Trump slammed Stephen Colbert and his late-night program
The president suggested that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which will be coming to an end in 2026, should be discontinued immediately by CBS
Trump also wrote that Colbert is “a dead man walking” and has “no talent”

President Donald Trump is calling out Stephen Colbert once again.

In the early hours of Wednesday, Dec. 24, Trump, 79, slammed the late-night host, 61, in a Truth Social post. The contentious message came shortly after CBS followed The Kennedy Center Honors broadcast, hosted by Trump, with a rerun of the Dec. 8 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

“Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success,” Trump wrote just after midnight. “Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings. 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!”

Donald Trump on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ on Tuesday Sept. 22, 2015.Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS via Getty 

Related Stories

Stephen Colbert’s Show Was Canceled 3 Days After He Slammed CBS’ Parent Company for Giving Trump $16M: ‘Big, Fat Bribe’

Stephen Colbert Receives Standing Ovation for Emmys 2025 Win After Talk Show Cancellation — and Surprisingly Thanks CBS

Minutes later, he shared another post that read: “Who has the worst Late Night host, CBS, ABC, or NBC??? They all have three things in common: High Salaries, No Talent, REALLY LOW RATINGS!”

“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!” the president added in a third post.

Trump has been outspoken about his opinion on Colbert in recent months after the comedian announced in July that his show would be ending in May 2026 after 10 seasons, a decision that he slammed as a “big fat bribe.”

The news came just days after Colbert blasted Paramount, the parent company of CBS, for its July 3 settlement with President Donald Trump for $16 million following a legal battle in which he accused journalists at 60 Minutes of deceptively editing a 2024 interview with his presidential election opponent, Kamala Harris.

The settlement occurred while Paramount was in the midst of a merger with the entertainment company Skydance, a business move that required approval from Trump’s administration. On Aug. 7, less than a month after The Late Show was axed, the merger was completed.

Stephen Colbert on January 3, 2018.Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Amid the controversy, CBS addressed the cancellation in a statement to PEOPLE, saying, “This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Trump celebrated the end of The Late Show at the time, while further attacking other prominent late-night hosts.

“I absolutely love that Colbert got fired,” he wrote on Truth Social, later claiming: “The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, [Jimmy] Fallon will be gone.”

“These are people with absolutely NO TALENT, who were paid Millions of Dollars for, in all cases, destroying what used to be GREAT Television,” the president added. “It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!”