President Trump is claiming that late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon will be the “next to go” if he has his way, following the shock announcement that CBS will permanently retire the Stephen Colbert-helmed Late Show next year.
“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, Fallon will be gone,” Trump wrote on Truth social on Tuesday of the comedians, both of whom regularly mock the president on their shows. “These are people with absolutely NO TALENT, who were paid Millions of Dollars for, in all cases, destroying what used to be GREAT Television. It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!”
The comments follow similar ones from the president last week, who wrote on social media that he heard “Jimmy Kimmel is next” and called Fallon a “moron.”
The Independent has contacted representatives of both hosts for comment.
Kimmel’s contract expires next year, while Fallon’s runs through 2028.
CBS announced the end of the top-ranked Late Show last week, calling it a “purely financial decision,” as late-night TV faces declining ad revenue and viewership, as well as competition from social media and streaming services.
Colbert, however, as well as various Hollywood figures and prominent elected Democrats, saw the cancellation as another move designed to curry favor with Trump, after CBS parent Paramount agreed earlier this month to a $16 million settlement in a lawsuit from the president over the editing of a 2024 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
The administration also has final sign-off on a proposed $8.4 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance, a production company with ties to pro-Trump billionaire Larry Ellison.
Colbert has blasted the settlement as a “a big fat, bribe,” and staged an elaborate segment on Monday spoofing the cancellation, modeled after an incident in which the jumbotron at a Coldplay concert recently exposed an affair between a tech company CEO and his head of HR.
In the Late Show’s version, the audience was filled with fellow late-night hosts including Fallon, Seth Meyers, Andy Cohen, John Oliver, and John Stewart, as well as an animated Donald Trump hugging a Paramount logo.
Fellow comedians have rallied behind Colbert.
“I think the answer is in the fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America’s institutions at this very moment, institutions that have chosen not to fight the vengeful and vindictive actions of our pubic hair doodling Commander in Chief,” Stewart said on The Daily Show. “This is not the moment to give in.”
“Love you, Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons, CBS,” Kimmel wrote last week in an Instagram Story, referring to the CBS show The Big Bang Theory and its variety of spinoffs.
Outside of late-night TV, the president has shown an unprecedented willingness to publicly wield his power against media institutions engaged in work that paints him in an unflattering light.
Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a report that prior to taking office, Trump sent an explicit 50th birthday card to sex offender and alleged human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
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