Entertainment

After 11 Years and a War With Trump, Stephen Colbert Said Goodbye Without Saying His Name

By Erica Coleman · May 22, 2026

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired its final episode Thursday night. Stephen Colbert spent 11 years on that stage, more than 1,800 episodes, and a sustained public feud with Donald Trump that many observers believe cost him his job. In his last hour on CBS, he did not say Trump’s name once.

Instead he had Paul McCartney.

McCartney, Colbert’s final guest, closed the show by performing on stage — a booking so surreal that it would have felt like a victory lap in any context. Before they sat down to talk, McCartney took his own unprompted shot at the political moment.

“America’s where all the music we loved came from — all the rock n’ roll, the blues, and the whole thing — even going back to Fred Astaire. It was all going back to America.”

He paused just long enough to let it land.

“And I still think it’s the home of democracy.”

The audience erupted. Colbert, who had spent years making Trump the centerpiece of his late-night show and had been canceled shortly after criticizing a Paramount settlement with Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview, chose not to respond. He just smiled and let McCartney’s words sit in the room.

The guests in Colbert’s final weeks had been extraordinary: Oprah Winfrey, former President Barack Obama, David Letterman, Jon Stewart — who used his appearance to “rib CBS pointedly over its decision,” according to the Washington Post — Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver. The finale was built to feel like a celebration rather than an execution, and by nearly all accounts it succeeded.

Colbert’s decision not to mention Trump in his final hour was deliberate and widely discussed before the broadcast. He had every platform and every reason to use the moment as a final indictment. He chose gratitude instead.

Then, at 1:52 in the morning, about an hour after the show ended, Trump posted on Truth Social.

“Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!”

Despite Trump’s claim about ratings, Colbert had consistently had the highest ratings in late night for nearly a decade.

The story of why the Late Show ended is not fully settled. CBS and Paramount have maintained the decision was financial. The timing tells a different story: CBS announced the show’s cancellation two days after Colbert called Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump — paid while Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance awaited regulatory approval from the Trump administration — a “big fat bribe.” Colbert called the settlement “a big fat bribe” to his audience and said “I don’t know if anything — anything — will repair my trust in this company.”

Days later, the show was over.

Colbert spent his final weeks making the best television of his run. Trump spent his first morning after the finale posting at 1:52 AM about a man who never said his name.