The evening of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show finale brought out reactions from across the entire country. Fans cried. Celebrities shared memories. Former guests posted tributes. And President Trump posted an AI generated video of himself throwing Colbert into a trash can.
The clip, which the official White House account on X reposted with the caption “Bye bye,” showed an animated version of Trump walking onto the Late Show stage during the finale, lifting Colbert up, and throwing him into a dumpster. The video then cuts to Trump dancing to YMCA by Village People, which has become something of a signature moment at his rallies.
The trash can detail landed differently than Trump likely intended, given that Colbert had literally thrown furniture into a burning dumpster on public access television the very next night. The internet noticed immediately.
The AI video was not Trump’s first dig at Colbert that day. Earlier on Friday morning, Trump had posted that he could not believe Colbert lasted so long at the network. Taken together, the two posts represent an unusual amount of presidential attention directed at a comedian on the final day of his television run.
What makes this story genuinely significant beyond the obvious absurdity is the context it creates for the rest of the late night industry. Trump followed the Colbert posts with a separate message suggesting that others of even less talent would soon follow, and wrote that the remaining late night hosts should rest in peace. The message did not name anyone specifically, but the implication was clear enough to alarm the industry.
Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel have all been targets of Trump’s criticism at various points. Kimmel is considered the most direct and regular target, and the timing of this latest round of posts arrives while the FCC is already conducting a review of ABC’s broadcast licenses, announced just days after Kimmel drew presidential criticism.
The AI video became one of the most shared pieces of content from the entire week surrounding the finale. Not because it landed as an effective attack, but because it illustrated something about the moment that was impossible to ignore.
Colbert spent eleven years being the most effective critic of this political era on television. That he drew this specific reaction on his final night says everything about how much it mattered.
