Stephen Colbert censors Trump’s name from The Late Show

Stephen Colbert has found a subtle way to dismiss President Donald Trump on The Late Show

While President Donald Trump continues to protest the 2020 election, Stephen Colbert is mounting his own protest. The Late Show has censored the current president’s name from the monologue.

On Monday night’s show, Stephen Colbert celebrated Joe Biden’s victory with champagne. When he noted that President Trump had yet to concede, Colbert joked that it didn’t matter because he already forgot the president’s name. Still, the monologue continued to reference President Trump by name.

But that changed as the week went on. Colbert stopped using “Donald Trump” and instead referred to “the President” or “the current President.” It’s something that many other critics of President Trump have done, including Hasan Minhaj as he told Colbert back in 2018.

Last night on The Late Show, Colbert’s monologue took things one step further. He didn’t reference it but the name “Trump” was censored from the show. Graphics referencing reports on the president’s behavior repeatedly substituted his last name with “T****.” See for yourself right here:

Stephen Colbert knows that President Trump’s time in the spotlight is fading

The substance of Thursday night’s monologue was all about how autocrats around the world are turning to President Donald Trump for inspiration. Despite failing lawsuits and a lack of evidence, President Trump continues to cling to power and refuse to cooperate with the transition of power. Whether or not it is just theatrics is irrelevant to Colbert who became emotional in the past when discussing President Trump’s actions.

Giving the president the Voldemort treatment is one small way for Colbert to push back. It signals the end for President Trump and his time in the White House. It’s still too soon for The Late Show to completely forget about Donald Trump. And after five years of talking about him nonstop, the host can’t be expected to quit cold turkey. So instead, it looks like Colbert is slowly but surely phasing Donald Trump out of The Late Show, first by refusing to say his name and now refusing to even show it.

Colbert also knows that President Trump loves being in the spotlight and loves hearing or seeing his name. Censoring the president’s name from The Late Show after he lost the election lets Colbert add insult to injury. We know that the president occasionally tunes in to The Late Show but chances are he’d change the channel if his name didn’t come up.

There are just under 70 days left until Joe Biden takes over the White House. It’s also how long Colbert has to still refer to Donald Trump as “the current president.” But anyone worried about how The Late Show would survive in a post-Trump world now has proof that Stephen Colbert is looking forward to it.

What do you think of Stephen Colbert’s protest? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.