On Thursday evening, we learned that Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” will be axed in May 2026. Those of us on the right weren’t particularly shocked. Despite Colbert’s reputation as the king of late night, Greg Gutfeld dethroned him in the fall of 2022, and it seemed inevitable that as Colbert’s ratings fell, so would ad revenue.
Naturally, the usual suspects on the left are in full meltdown mode. The narrative from their side is simple: Any setback for one of their favorite propagandists must be a covert political hit job orchestrated by Trump and his cronies.
The facts are obvious to anyone who’s been paying attention
Late-night TV has been hemorrhaging money for years as viewers jump ship for streaming services. In 2018, these shows raked in $439 million in ad revenue. Last year, that figure crashed to $220 million — a collapse so catastrophic that no amount of Trump jokes could paper it over. But try telling that to the likes of Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren, who see sinister motives everywhere except in themselves.
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Never mind the glaring reality that Colbert, a relentless Trump critic, used his prime-time soapbox for a decade to alienate half the country. After CBS and parent company Paramount announced they’re pulling the plug when his contract expires, Colbert declared, “I’m not being replaced; this is all just going away.”
Democratic Sens. Schiff and Warren practically tripped over themselves, racing to social media and demanding an investigation, as though Colbert’s show was a sacred institution under assault.
Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled.
If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) July 17, 2025
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 looks like bribery.
America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.
Watch and share his message. pic.twitter.com/Rz7HcWFLYM
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) July 18, 2025
The left’s hysteria is transparent. Paramount’s merger with Skydance still needs sign-off from the Trump administration and the FCC. Throw in a $16 million settlement to Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview, and Democrats are convinced there’s a grand scheme to silence their guy, all conveniently ignoring that Paramount might simply want to stop losing money.
Schiff and Warren are demanding answers while ignoring the cold, hard truth: If Colbert’s show had been a ratings juggernaut, none of these supposed “financial” concerns would have mattered.
Which brings up the inevitable question Democrats don’t want to ask and certainly won’t like the answer to: Why did Colbert’s ratings tank?
We all know why.
His routine of attacking Trump and conservatives night after night may have endeared him to the progressive elite, but it alienated millions of Americans. Instead of desiring a broad audience, Colbert made the decision that he didn’t want conservatives watching his show.
Needless to say, we didn’t. And after next May, no one will be watching his show.
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