Stephen Colbert Celebrates Trump’s SOTU Ratings Drop: ‘If I Were CBS, I’d Cancel Him’
Stephen Colbert Celebrates Trump’s SOTU Ratings Drop: ‘If I Were CBS, I’d Cancel Him’
Martin HolmesFri, February 27, 2026 at 1:23 PM UTC
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Stephen Colbert - The Late Show YouTube
Stephen Colbert turned the tables on Donald Trump on Thursday’s (February 26) edition of The Late Show by poking fun at the president’s State of the Union ratings.
According to Nielsen figures, Trump’s record-breaking 108-minute speech on Tuesday (February 24) averaged 32.6 million viewers, an 11 percent decrease from the 36.6 million who watched his address last year. Colbert was quick to point this out while celebrating his own show’s ratings compared to last year’s.
“The Nielsen ratings for his speech are in, and Trump’s talk-a-thon saw an 11 percent decrease from last year,” the late-night host said during Thursday’s opening monologue. “Donald Trump is really dragging down broadcast television. I mean, if I were CBS, I’d cancel him.”
Last July, CBS announced it was canceling The Late Show, citing financial reasons. The show’s final episode is set to air in May. At the time, Trump celebrated the cancelation, writing on Truth Social, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”
Colbert returned fire on Thursday night, saying, “But you know, linear television is doomed, and everyone’s ratings are going down, right? I’m sorry, what’s that? Our ratings were up 7 percent?!”
“Over the same last year? So last year’s and this year’s? I’m up 7 percent? Holy cow!” he continued as the studio audience chanted his name.
He added, “You know what I think is going on? People may not like watching Trump, but they do like watching me not like watching Trump.”
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Colbert also compared Trump’s SOTU ratings to the recent Super Bowl, which averaged 125.6 million viewers. “I think Trump could have saved the whole thing with a blockbuster halftime show featuring Bad Bernie,” he quipped while showing a mock-up photo of Bernie Sanders dressed as Bad Bunny.
Earlier in his monologue, Colbert said, “Allow me to take a moment here to just jam a Capri-Sun straw into your spinal fluid and suck out some of your life force, because I’m still dragging ass and spitting out teeth after Trump’s record-breaking 108-minute-long State of the Union on Tuesday.”
“I could barely get through it. How did he stay awake that long?” the comedian asked before cutting to a clip of Trump’s address where the president said, “I took prescription drugs.”
“Refreshing honesty,” Colbert quipped.
You can watch Colbert’s full opening monologue in the video above and let us know your thoughts below.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
