Trump Marks the End of ‘The Late Show’ With an AI Dumpster Video and a Victory Dance
‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ wrapped up one of the most celebrated runs in late-night television history on Thursday night, closing out 11 seasons and more than 1,800 episodes at New York’s iconic Ed Sullivan Theater. Colbert’s final broadcast was deliberately light on politics, with even his opening monologue leaning toward whimsy rather than the pointed satire that defined so much of his tenure.
The night ended with a powerful performance of “Hello, Goodbye,” featuring Paul McCartney, former bandleader Jon Batiste, singer Elvis Costello, and Colbert himself, before McCartney and the host symbolically pulled a lever together to turn off the lights of the Ed Sullivan Theater. A long line of A-list celebrities including Bryan Cranston, Ryan Reynolds, and Paul Rudd also made appearances throughout the evening, paying tribute to the show’s long run. Colbert made a point of not mentioning Trump once during the entire broadcast, choosing to go out on his own terms.
By the following evening, however, the president had a very different kind of sendoff prepared. Trump posted an AI-generated video to Truth Social showing himself walking onstage behind Colbert, grabbing the former host by the shoulders, and throwing him into a conveniently placed dumpster before closing the lid. The official White House account on X shared the same clip with the caption “Bye-bye.”
Moments after slamming the lid shut, the Village People’s “YMCA” began to play, and the AI-rendered president launched into his signature dance moves while the studio audience cheered him on. The dumpster video was actually the second wave of attacks that day, with Trump having posted earlier on Truth Social expressing disbelief that Colbert had lasted nearly 11 years at the network, labeling him a “no talent” comedian with “no ratings” and “no life.”
The broader context behind the cancellation remains deeply contested. CBS announced last July that the 33-year late-night franchise was ending, describing the decision at the time as purely financial rather than a reflection of the program’s content or performance. The announcement came just days after Colbert publicly spoke out against Paramount, the parent company of CBS, for paying a $16 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit filed by Trump. The timing was striking enough that two U.S. senators publicly questioned whether the motivations behind the cancellation were truly financial, raising concerns that political pressure may have played a role.
Trump’s habit of deploying AI-generated imagery to mock critics has become a recurring feature of his public communications. He has previously shared AI-altered clips targeting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who responded by calling the videos “disgusting.” The dumpster video represents the most theatrically gleeful use of the tactic yet, timed to arrive the morning after a finale that critics praised for its warmth and restraint.
The contrast between Thursday night and Friday night tells its own story. Colbert spent his final hour honoring the people who made the show and the audience who watched it, while the president spent the next day celebrating the same ending with a cartoon dumpster. Now that ‘The Late Show’ has signed off from the Ed Sullivan Theater for the last time, it’s worth asking whether Colbert made exactly the right call by never mentioning Trump’s name during the finale, or whether one last monologue aimed directly at the president would have been the sharper final word.
