Trump earlier in the week tore into Colbert and fellow late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon.
“Colbert has no talent,” the president said. “Fallon has no talent. Kimmel has no talent.”
Trump has been celebrating last month’s cancellation of Colbert’s show, and on Wednesday predicted that the two Jimmys will be “next” because “Colbert has better ratings than Kimmel or Fallon, you know that.”
“I knew that,” Colbert agreed with the president, but also defended his late night colleagues: “To be fair, I think we’re all equally untalented.”
But he also had a surprise for the president.
“Thank you for watching, sir,” he said. “And thank you for agreeing to be in our new promo.”
He rolled a new mock promo clip for “The Late Show” celebrating his ratings.
“Stephen Colbert is number one in late night,” the voice in the ad stated. “Just ask our elderly viewers.”
That led to the clip of the president noting Colbert’s ratings.
“Everyone’s watching,” the promo pointed out, adding: “Still canceled.”
Colbert’s show was canceled last month as CBS’ parent company, Paramount, attempted to complete a merger that required federal approval. Given Trump’s open hatred of the show, critics said the company was trying to win Trump’s favor to help the deal pass FCC muster.
The company also paid Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit that most legal observers believed was without merit.
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Check it out in the Thursday night “Late Show” monologue: