The former “Late Show” host — in a video shared to his YouTube channel — said he was “thrilled” to see Trump take to Truth Social to question what happened to him and claim that his old show’s ratings were “never very good.”
“He looks like hell, but at least he knew when to quit. LOSER!!!” wrote Trump of Letterman.
Trump’s post arrived a day after Letterman took on the president and Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who threatened to strip ABC of its broadcast license over Kimmel’s comments on the Charlie Kirk assassination.
On Friday, Letterman likened Trump’s post to Santa Claus knocking at his door with a “big bag of gifts.”
He quipped that all of Trump’s points were “true” before tossing to a 2008 clip of the future president remarking on the ratings of the “Late Show” while bragging about his “very successful” Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.
“By the way, congratulations on your ratings, ratings have been very good,” Trump told Letterman before the audience applauded.
Letterman said Trump’s remarking on his looks is like the “kettle calling the pot black” and urged Americans to stop being surprised by the president’s “lunatic behavior.”
“He’s a dictator, this is what dictators do, the real question is, ‘What should we do?’ We would rather not have a dictator,” he said.
Earlier in the video, Letterman declared that Kimmel has singlehandedly saved “the republic,” calling his return monologue on Tuesday “perfect and moving.”
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“He’s a smart man and a funny and powerful and just word perfect. … Jimmy really went to work and I thought, in a pretty bleak landscape, his presentation offered a bit of hope,” he said.
He called on Americans not to wait until next year’s midterms to respond to Trump.