President Donald Trump continues to be a major player in late-night TV. Days after news broke that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will be cancelled, the president claimed Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon are next. But the late-night hosts aren't backing down.
Critics of Paramount's decision to end The Late Show in May 2026 couldn't help but read into the politics of it all. The news came shortly after Stephen Colbert criticized Paramount on air for reaching a $16 million settlement with President Trump. The Late Show host called it a "bribe" designed to facilitate the merger between Paramount and Skydance.
President Trump celebrated the news on social media, prompting Colbert to respond with "go f*** yourself" during his monologue on July 21. Unsurprisingly, the president wasn't going to let that go without a response.
"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 posted to social media on July 22. "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!"
This isn't the first time President Trump has claimed Kimmel will lose his job at ABC in the wake of CBS cancelling The Late Show. The president also took time over the past week to call Jimmy Fallon a "moron."
But the final line about "I hope I played a major part in it" will only further fuel outrage over cancelling Stephen Colbert. Jon Stewart and others inside the industry have made it clear they think it was a politically-motivated decision to stay in Trump's good graces. Protestors also camped out in front of the Late Show studio in support of Colbert.
Jimmy Kimmel made sure to take a breather from his summer break to respond to President Trump. The comedian shared an image of Trump's social media post with the caption "I'm hearing you're next. Or maybe it's just another wonderful secret." The line refers to a note allegedly written by Trump in a birthday card for Jefferey Epstein.
Jimmy Fallon has yet to react to the president threatening his job. But the Tonight Show host did appear on Colbert's Late Show to start the week and further voiced support for Colbert during the monologue on his show. Fallon will probably be happy to get in a back-and-forth with Trump if it means backing his late-night colleagues.