Stephen Colbert‘s stint as host of “The Late Show” comes to an end this week after a tenure marked by him becoming arguably the most rabidly partisan host in the late-night landscape.
Colbert transformed the CBS show into #Resistance television in the Trump era and made it into a major platform for Democrats, encouraging fellow late-night hosts like Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers to follow suit.
Here is a look back at some of Colbert’s most partisan moments during his time as “The Late Show” host:
STEPHEN COLBERT HAD LEFT-WING JOURNALISTS, HOSTS ON ‘THE LATE SHOW’ MORE THAN 200 TIMES
In the early months of the first Trump administration, Colbert went on a profanity-laced rant after President Donald Trump took swipes at his then-CBS colleague and “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson during an interview.
“John Dickerson has way too much dignity to trade insults with the President of the United States to his face, but I, sir, am no John Dickerson,” Colbert said in a May 2017 monologue.
Colbert hurled several insults towards Trump, including calling him “Presidunce” and “Prick-tator,” and referred to his presidency as “Disgrace the Nation.”
“Sir, you attract more skinheads than free Rogaine,” Colbert told Trump. “You have more people marching against you than cancer. You talk like a sign language gorilla that got hit in the head. In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s c–k holster.”
The comment drew outrage among Trump supporters with #FireColbert dominating Twitter (now called X) at the time. Reacting to the uproar, Colbert refrained from apologizing and said he had no regrets, though he did concede that he “would change a few words that were cruder than they needed to be.”
Colbert joined the chorus of the liberal late-night hosts who celebrated Joe Biden’s victory against Trump in the 2020 election.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Biden did it! He’s our next president!” a jubilant Colbert exclaimed while dancing and drinking a glass of champagne.
The CBS host admitted he cried when Biden was declared the winner, expressing relief that he didn’t have to talk about Trump again.
That would turn out not to be the case.
While broadcasting remotely during the COVID pandemic, Colbert had a recurring segment called “The Vax-Scene” that relied on singing and dancing cartoon syringes to promote the vaccine, which became a polarizing issue as the Biden administration and Democrats across the nation enforced mandates.
The gag culminated in his return to his studio audience in June 2021, where he was accompanied by real-life dancers dressed in syringe costumes singing a parody of The Champs’ classic hit song “Tequila.”
Critics panned the cringey performance, and it was widely panned as “propaganda” for the Biden administration.
Colbert went viral in August 2021 after being spotted with a high-profile dance partner: then-Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The two were spotted backstage at We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert, an event held in Central Park to celebrate the Big Apple’s resilience from the COVID pandemic.
The video, shared by the press secretary of then-New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, showed a masked Schumer high-fiving Colbert, who offered the top Democrat a shimmy.
While some mocked Colbert for his chummy moment with the top Democrat, critics also took aim at Schumer, accusing him of being callous as the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan was underway.
In March 2024, Colbert helped boost President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign with a star-studded fundraiser in New York City. At the glitzy event, he moderated a conversation between Biden and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. The record-setting fundraiser brought in $26 million for Biden’s presidential campaign, which he ultimately abandoned later in the year.
Organizers charged a minimum of $250 to attend and up to $500,000 for a more intimate, exclusive reception. For $100,000, guests got a photo with all three presidents taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. Also attending the star-studded event included Mindy Kaling, Lizzo, Cynthia Erivo and Queen Latifah.
In February, Colbert became a vital figure in the hotly contested Democratic Senate primary race in Texas when he sat down with state Rep. James Talarico.
Talarico was widely seen as the Democrat establishment favorite as he was viewed as the more electable candidate in the red state, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office in decades.
The host alleged that CBS blocked him from airing the Talarico interview amid the FCC’s crackdown on the networks, requiring them to provide equal air time for all candidates on the ballot, meaning he would also have to interview Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, ahead of the March primary. He told viewers that the interview would be posted on YouTube, which is outside the FCC’s purview.
However, CBS released a statement denying Colbert’s claim that he was prohibited from interviewing Talarico, saying “The show was provided legal guidance” and “decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.” Crockett also revealed that “The Late Show” never invited her to promote her Senate bid.
The Talarico interview generated more than 9 million views on YouTube as a result, with the Senate hopeful announcing his campaign raised $2.5 million from what critics derided a publicity stunt.
Talarico went on to win the Democratic primary held just days later. He’ll face either incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas or his Republican challenger, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who are fighting for the nomination in a runoff.
Colbert sat down with former President Barack Obama at the new Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, where he asked the popular Democrat about the future of his party and whether there was a civil war between the so-called moderates and the progressives.
Obama shrugged off concerns that there was a true divide within the Democratic Party, but offered praise to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWS
“You look at somebody like Mamdani, who I think is an extraordinary talent,” Obama told Colbert. “He wants people to be able to afford housing in New York. Well, you know, I would assume liberals in New York want the same thing. And so I don’t worry as much about some of these issues within the Democratic Party. I’m more interested in for Democrats is — do you know to just talk to regular people like we’re not in a college seminar, right? You know, can you talk plain English to folks about-“
“I think that’s one of the powers that Mamdani has,” Colbert interjected. “Not only does he talk like a normal person, but he lives a normal life, but also, he names what is obviously wrong.”
“Yes!” Obama exclaimed. “And not have a bunch of gobbledygook around it… Just talk like normal people talk.”
Colbert also hosted numerous Democratic politicians and liberal media figures over his tenure for fawning interviews.
