Wednesday April 29th, 2026
My Dear America:
We are in the countdown stage right now.
Counting down till the end of May of 2026 when the Morons running CBS Television have decreed that the Highly Successful and Very Entertaining "Late Show With Stephen Colbert" will end its Long Run. Apparently the New Owners of CBS feel that Kissing up to Donald Trump is more important to them than providing what is important to their Television Viewers.
I have a strong feeling that they will soon be regretting their decision.
What seems to be happening presently is that a long parade of some of Colbert's Most Frequent and Favorite Guests seem to be stopping by to say "Goodbye" to the Long Running Television Host and Comedian. The result has been some spectacularly Good Television.
I have to say that although I am dreading the end of Colbert's CBS Run I am thoroughly enjoying watching these last ditch Special Colbert Shows where Guests like Oprah, Paul Simon, John Oliver, John Lithgow, Anderson Cooper, Michael Stipe and so many others are showing up to say "Goodbye".
Although I have no doubt that Stephen Colbert will be Okay after the end of May, I am not so sure about the American Television Viewer. Stephen Colbert will undoubtedly have plenty of offers for his Comedic Services following the end of The Late Show but clearly the end of this television program signals a cold chill in The air in the realm of Comedy in The United States of America.
We have certainly come a long way when it comes to Comedy in America.
In the Nineteen Fifties Lenny Bruce was arrested and hounded to death for using off color language that today is used freely by the comedians of today and hopefully tomorrow, as well.
But what does the end of the Late Show mean for the world of comedy?
Certainly Political Comedy like that of Colbert's and Jimmy Kimmel's and other Late Night Comedians is nothing new. Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien And others nightly skewered the Presidents of their day. Nixon, Ford, Reagan, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton all seemed to take their skewering with mainly good humor and very little pushback. The Presidents all seemed to understand that being laughed at and about came with the territory when you were President of the United States. I am sure that previous Presidents didn't like being made fun of but for the most part, Previous Presidents took the laughter about their foibles with Grace and Dignity.
To say that Grace and Dignity are in Short supply when it comes to Donald Trump is putting it mildly.
Donald Trump clearly does not like being laughed at.
Indeed, Trump's serious and successful race for the Presidency in 2016 seems to have begun as the result of his being made fun of at a White House Correspondent's Dinner where Barack Obama and Seth Meyers made fun of Trump's stupid and irresponsible demand that Barack Obama needed to show his Birth Certificate and his Harvard University Grades. This was back in the day when The White House Correspondent's Dinner featured stand up comedy sets by comedians as well as by President's like Barack, Joe B., Bill Clinton and George W. making fun of themselves.
I spent a good deal of time last Saturday Afternoon watching C-Span prior to the latest planned White House Correspondent's Dinner that was scheduled for Saturday Night. During the entire afternoon Saturday C-Span featured reruns of Presidential Comedy Sets from Trump's Presidential Predecessors and I have to admit that most of what I saw was pretty funny. But the funniest and most surprising comedy set I saw Saturday afternoon was at one of the dinners where Laura Bush came up and pushed George W. away from the podium and delivered one of the most hilarious comedy sets that I watched all afternoon.
I never cared much for Bush when he was President but after watching him laughing at himself and allowing his wife to make fun of him also I had to admit that I was more than a little nostalgic for the Bush era at least for a little bit.
I think I speak for most reasonable Americans when I say that we have had it with Donald Trump's assault on Comedy.
Trump had been scheduled to speak at last Saturday's Ill Fated White House Correspondent's Dinner. Of course he had demanded that the Dinner not feature a Comedian like it had for many decades. Instead he wanted to have a "Mentalist". The word was that Trump had prepared a Screed in which to savage the gathered Journalists who, because they were doing their jobs by telling the truth about him, he had long designated as "Enemies of The People". In the end there was nothing to laugh about at the White House Correspondent's Dinner.
Jimmy Kimmel, Host of the late night ABC Jimmy Kimmel Show had already been targeted by Donald Trump and his Minions for Television Extinction and had been taken off the air for a brief period apparently as the result of making fun of Trump until Kimmel Fans began hitting ABC where it hurt, in their pocketbook. ABC then wisely put Kimmel back on the air and ever since Kimmel has continued to poke fun at Trump's continuing stupidity. Just prior to the recent Correspondent's Dinner Kimmel presented what would normally be presented at the Correspondent's Dinner, which was a "Roast" making fun of the President. Apparently Kimmel's 'Roast" pissed off the humorless President and Trump is once again on the warpath demanding that Jimmy Kimmel be canceled.
It is probably too late for Stephen Colbert to be saved from the fate of cancelation but I would suggest that Colbert Fans might consider doing what Kimmel Fans did and try to save Colbert. In the meantime those of us who enjoy the Colbert Show can continue to watch Colbert and hope for a miracle.
It goes without saying that Comedy should not have limits put on it by Thin Skinned Politicians like Donald Trump. It is only a matter of time until Donald Trump will turn to attempting to rid the airwaves of criticism of him and his policies. Certainly Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver will be in Trump's Comedy Crosshairs, as will be Saturday Night Live.
Hopefully those of us who love Comedy and still have a Sense of Humor will have something to laugh at as we continue marching through the New Dark Age in which we are saddled with the Humorless and Frightening Presence of Donald Trump.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
