Donald Trump has criticized Stephen Colbert in a new interview, claiming there is “nothing funny” about his routine.
The Late Show host recently launched an attack on the president, delivering a string of insults in response to his mistreatment of Colbert’s CBS colleague John Dickerson during an Oval Office interview.
In a new interview with Time magazine, Trump responded angrily to Colbert’s tirade.
“You see a no-talent guy like Colbert,” he said. “There’s nothing funny about what he says. And what he says is filthy. And you have kids watching. And it only builds up my base. It only helps me, people like him.”
Since the election, The Late Show has become the most successful late night show, outpacing The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon by over 400,000 viewers a night. Trump said his presidency had saved Colbert’s career.
“The guy was dying,” he said. “By the way, they were going to take him off television, then he started attacking me and he started doing better. But his show was dying. I’ve done his show. But when I did his show, which, by the way, was very highly rated. It was high – highest rating. The highest rating he’s ever had.” (It actually attracted 2 million fewer viewers than Colbert’s debut episode at The Late Show.)
In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Colbert said he would trade good ratings for “a better president”.
Trump also told Time magazine that CNN’s Chris Cuomo was “a chained lunatic” while Don Lemon was “perhaps the dumbest person in broadcasting”. A spokesperson for the network said: “His comments are beneath the dignity of the office of the president.”
