Colbert’s final year marked by attacks on Trump, celebs kissing his ring

Marked by relentless attacks on President Donald Trump, left-wing talking points and celebrities kissing his ring, Stephen Colbert’s final year with CBS comes to a close when the curtain falls on his show on Thursday night.

Colbert has been the face of “The Late Show” ever since his predecessor, David Letterman, stepped down in 2015. The outspoken liberal transformed CBS’ long-running late-night show into #Resistance television, dedicating monologue after monologue to attacking Trump while elevating Democrats and boosting their agenda.

Colbert launched a yearlong farewell journey after CBS announced in July 2025 that it had canceled “The Late Show.” In July, Colbert declared, “For the next 10 months, the gloves are off.”

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“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” wraps up for good on May 21.  (Scott Kowalchyk ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

After the president taunted him over the cancellation, Colbert quipped casually, “Go f— yourself” on the show.

Colbert has not held back when it comes to attacking the Trump administration, and the show has been littered with guests who share his ideology. MS NOW hosts Jen Psaki, Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow and CNN anchors Jake Tapper, Kaitlan Collins and Anderson Cooper have appeared on the show, while other liberal late-night hosts such as Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver and Seth Meyers have also visited the “Late Show.”

Former President Barack Obama laughed earlier this month as he slighted Trump on the show, suggesting that Colbert himself would make a better president. 

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Former President Barack Obama and Stephen Colbert.  (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Jon Ossoff, Sen. Mark Kelly, former Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Adam Schiff, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Jim Clyburn, Rep. Ruben Gallego, former Secretary John Kerry, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, former first lady Michelle Obama and Biden-era press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre all paid their respects as the “Late Show” often served as a revolving door for the Democratic Party’s leadership as Colbert prepared to sign off. 

Far-left actors Mark Ruffalo and Jane Fonda were among the Hollywood elites who also stopped by during Colbert’s final months on air to fawn over him. Bette Midler even serenaded Colbert with a parody of her famous song, “Wind Beneath My Wings,” attacking Trump and urging the audience to sing, “You never kissed the orange a–.”

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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel joins Stephen Colbert’s Late Show on Tuesday, September 30, 2025. (CBS/LateShowStephenColbert)

Hollywood trade publication Variety even noted that the final months of the show have been largely spent fluffing Colbert. 

“What has ended up making it to air has been an increasingly puffy tribute to the show’s own host. The endless bouquets being tossed Colbert’s way have started to make the studio smell a bit cloying,” Variety correspondent Daniel D’Addario wrote. 

“The show’s focus on its own host’s misfortune has become outsized and a bit dramatic, especially because so many other institutions are in crisis,” D’Addario continued. “With everything else going on in the world, we have to go through a monthslong celebration-of-life for a comedian whose job is coming to an end?” 

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Rep. James Talarico and Stephen Colbert on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in February. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)

In February, Colbert made waves when he alleged an interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico was blocked by CBS due to equal time constraints. Instead of airing the Talarico sit-down on television, it was posted to the program’s YouTube channel. Many suggested that Colbert essentially drummed up publicity to help Talarico defeat his firebrand opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, in a primary because he would be more palatable in a general election. 

CBS denied Colbert’s claim, and The New York Times eventually reported that Talarico knew the interview would only air online well in advance. FCC Chair Brendan Carr told reporters, “You had a Democrat candidate who understood the way that the news media works, and he took advantage of all your sort of prior conceptions to run a hoax, apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks.”

When Colbert and his guests weren’t mocking Trump, they were typically criticizing CBS for pulling the plug on the show. Colbert’s beef with CBS started before his show was canceled, as he fumed that then-CBS parent company Paramount settled an “election interference” lawsuit with Trump for at least $16 million — a sum that could reach north of $30 million — ahead of Skydance Media’s acquisition of the company. 

Late-night host Stephen Colbert took aim at his employer, mocking the Paramount-Skydance merger with pee jokes after his show was canceled by the network.  (CBS/Colbert)

“I believe this kind of complicated financial sentiment with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It’s ‘big fat bribe,’ because it all comes as Paramount’s owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance!” Colbert said. 

“You may take our money, but you will never take our dignity,” he continued. “You may, however, purchase our dignity for the low, low price of $16 million. We need the cash.”

Days later, CBS announced that “The Late Show” would air its final episode in May 2026, and the FCC approved Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount shortly afterward. CBS insisted canceling “The Late Show” was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” but many believe the decision was made to appease Trump and the FCC before the merger. 

Colbert has slammed CBS on a regular basis ever since, frequently using his platform on the network to criticize its management. 

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Stephen Colbert and David Letterman target CBS in a sketch on Thursday as they threw furniture and more off the roof of “The Late Show” on May 14, 2026. (TheLateShow/CBS)

“Me being canceled reinforced a narrative that CBS already had a nimbus of knee-bending that they had created around themselves, because even their lawyers said there was no reason to cut the check, and then they did and gave no rationale for why they changed their minds. And then, suddenly, they got their broadcast license,” Colbert told The Hollywood Reporter this month.

Colbert recently welcomed Letterman, who celebrated the end of his former show by smashing a CBS logo by tossing furniture off the building. As Letterman signed off, he said to Colbert, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for our country.”

Colbert asked the comedian if he had any final words for the viewers and Letterman said he had something to say to CBS.

He said, “In the words of the great Ed Murrow, good night and good luck, motherf——!”

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Variety’s D’Addario observed, “Colbert deserved better treatment from CBS, but watching one person beam while receiving laurel after laurel doesn’t make the argument for his show’s relevance, as it’s frankly not very good TV, and — for this relentlessly political host — not in touch with the concerns of people who have been turning to ‘The Late Show’ for its political perspective.”

Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn, Alexander Hall and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.