The long-running feud between Donald Trump and late-night show host Stephen Colbert took an even more dramatic turn after the US president shared an AI-generated video of Colbert being thrown into a trash can.
The clip surfaced online just hours after CBS aired the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, ending Colbert’s nearly 11-year stint as host.
AI video sparks excitement online
The video, posted without a caption, showed Trump dragging Colbert to a large dumpster and throwing him inside.
Immediately, the AI-generated President Trump began dancing to YMCA by Village People, recreating one of his campaign’s signature dance routines.
The surreal footage quickly went viral on social media, adding another chapter to the public feud between the Republican leader and one of the most outspoken Trump critics on television.
Colbert ends ‘Late Show’ with music and nostalgia
Colbert’s farewell episode was more about celebration and nostalgia than political commentary.
The finale featured late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver and Jimmy Fallon, collectively known to viewers as the “Strike Force Five.”
On air, Kimmel told Colbert that the group had come to tell him they would miss him, while Meyers joked about where Americans were going from here to see “middle-aged white men making jokes about the news.”
The program also included performances by Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello.
Colbert and McCartney performed “Hello Goodbye” and symbolically turned off the lights at New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater, the historic venue where the Beatles made their American debut in 1964.
The finale also featured surreal visual effects, including a theater being swallowed up by a giant green wormhole resembling the CBS logo.
Years of public conflict
Mr. Trump and Mr. Colbert have spent years exchanging attacks in monologues, interviews and social media posts.
Colbert regularly mocked Trump, the MAGA movement and White House controversies in his nightly opening monologue, while Trump frequently criticized comedians’ ratings and television style online.
After CBS announced the show’s cancellation last year, President Trump described Colbert as a “pathetic train wreck” and called on the network to immediately remove him from the show.
CBS said the decision was related to financial pressures affecting late-night television.
However, critics questioned whether political tensions over the planned merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media also influenced the decision.
Bruce Springsteen’s comments add to the debate
On the eve of the finale, Bruce Springsteen made a sharp remark while performing with Colbert.
Springsteen told the host that he was “the first man in America to lose his job because the president couldn’t stand jokes.”
Colbert himself avoided directly blaming President Trump for canceling the show.
Jimmy Kimmel also targeted
Mr. Colbert is not the only conflict between Mr. Trump and late-night TV.
He has repeatedly criticized Jimmy Kimmel and called on ABC to fire the comedian over jokes related to the president, the Epstein case file controversy and first lady Melania Trump.
Kimmel’s program faced a suspension in 2025 after comments involving conservative activist Charlie Kirk sparked political backlash and regulatory scrutiny.
The end of the late night era
Colbert’s departure marks the end of the Late Show series, which began in 1993 under David Letterman.
The episode also highlighted the growing political tensions and commercial challenges surrounding late-night television as viewers continue to shift away from traditional broadcasts to short-form online clips and social media platforms.
President Trump’s AI-generated trash video has further intensified the debate over political satire, media influence and the increasingly combative relationship between American politicians and late-night comedy hosts.
