Donald Trump takes brutal swipe at Stephen Colbert after Late Show finale with controversial 'dead person' comment

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social in the early hours to take a brutal swipe at Stephen Colbert after the conclusion of The Late Show.

The much-loved talk show came to an end this week after 33 years on air, with Colbert fronting it for over a decade. David Letterman, the presenter's predecessor, created the TV show back in 1993.

The likes of Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, and Ryan Reynolds appeared in the finale, which began with Colbert telling the audience at the Ed Sullivan Theater and those watching at home that it would be a 'regular' show.

"At first, when we knew this was gonna be our last night, we were planning on doing a huge special this evening," he said.

"But the thing is, we like to think every episode of The Late Show is kind of special."

Trump has taken a brutal swipe at Colbert (Evan Vucci-Pool/Getty Images)

Prior to the airing of the final Late Show, Trump was asked about his thoughts and the president issued an ominous statement.

"I'll have a message at a later date," he said.

Well, that later date was just hours later after the POTUS took to his much-used Truth Social account to make a controversial 'dead person' comment.

Trump penned: "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!"

Why was The Late Show with Stephen Colbert canceled?

CBS announced that The Late Show would be coming to an end last July in what it said was purely a 'financial decision'.

The network, and parent company Paramount, said in a statement: "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season.

"We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time."

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has come to an end (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)

It continued: "This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."

However, news of the cancellation came just days after Colbert slammed Paramount for reaching a $16 million settlement with Trump over allegations that 60 Minutes, produced by the network, falsely edited a 2024 interview with Kamala Harris before the presidential election. Trump initially wanted $10 billion in damages over what he called 'fake' reporting.

After it was announced that Colbert's top-rated late-night show would be canceled, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings."

However, Colbert was quick to hit back during one of his monologues, telling the US leader: "Go f**k yourself."