Trump as the Master of Revels
Late-night host Stephen Colbert is the latest piece to be played in the never-ending board game that has dominated American life over the past six months. Maybe “Sorry!”? Although in our vindictive climate perhaps it would be better called “Not Sorry!” Either way, calling it “chess” would give certain entities too much credit, so pardon the metaphor. Last week, the comic announced that “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” is being pulled by CBS, making this his final season after a decade with the network.
Many immediately, and understandably, questioned CBS’s motives, including Colbert’s late-night contemporaries. Jon Stewart tackled the issue on “The Daily Show” this week, concluding with a gospel-style rendition of “Go f**k yourself,” directed at CBS and its parent company, Paramount. Paramount also owns Comedy Central, where “The Daily Show” airs. If Colbert, who hosts one of the highest ranking late-night TV programs, can be taken off the air, all of late-night TV is at risk. And no, not solely for financial reasons.
In theory, the slogan “Make comedy legal again,” championed by Elon Musk under the belief that “woke” ideals and cancel culture are not conducive to true comedy, implies that all comedy should be protected under the first amendment. This argument quickly falls apart, however, when its proponents pivot against comedy that does not adhere to their own beliefs and values, or just makes fun of them, which is what comedy does.
Indeed, comedy was never meant to appease anyone, much less the powerful. Sure, it has at times been appropriated as a tool for politicking, but this act is inherently corruptive, transforming comedy into propaganda.
Aristophanes, “The Father of Comedy” himself, was known for wielding humor in his deeply political plays in ancient Greece. “Lysistrata,” for example, follows the titular Athenian character as she unites Athenian and Spartan women together in a vow of chastity until the men agree to end the Peloponnesian War. “The Acharnians” tells the tale of Dikaiopolis as he agrees to a personal peace treaty with Sparta — also during the Peloponnesian War — after his advocacy for peace over war was ignored by the Athenian government. From its very inception, comedy was meant to say something serious. It was, by design, an accessible form of political and social commentary. It was for the people in order to skewer the powerful.
Unsurprisingly, with this appeal to the common person, this heightened awareness of social issues, comes censorship. Just look to the Master of the Revels — a court appointed position starting in the Tudor era of the fifteenth century and running up to the eighteenth century. His role was to issue licenses to theatres and to censor performances, including comedies, to ensure the monarchy was not threatened or undermined by a play’s contents. Or, perhaps, look at CBS’s shuttering of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Late-night comedy shows have been on Donald Trump’s hit list since before his first term. It’s the perfect storm of everything he hates, and his response to Colbert’s cancellation epitomized his fixation.
“The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, Fallon will be gone,” he wrote on Truth Social. “It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!”
Not convinced? Look at his social media reaction just a few months ago, in January 2025, when Trump bristled at Seth Meyers’ joke about the soon-to-be-inaugurated-president on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”
“Every time I watch this moron I feel an obligation to say how dumb and untalented he is, merely a slot filler for the Scum that runs Comcast,” wrote the president. “These guys should be paying a lot of money for the right to give these ‘in kind’ contributions to the Radical Left Democrat Party. These are not shows or entertainment, they are simply political hits, 100% of the time, to me and the Republican Party. Comcast should pay a BIG price for this!”
Or, what about in 2019, when Trump, as sitting president, asked his advisors if the FCC or DOJ could investigate Saturday Night Live. As reported by the Daily Beast, this came after he watched an SNL rerun that made jokes at his expense.
Why would CBS be so quick to give up Colbert over one of Trump’s many tantrums? Well, it’s the second victory the company has handed to him in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Paramount settled a lawsuit from Trump with a $16 million payout, which has largely been attributed to the company’s efforts to close an $8 billion merger with Skydance, a deal that requires approval from the federal government. The lawsuit accused CBS of editing its “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, thereby aiding her campaign, a claim that the company previously said had “no merit.” Yet, they played the game. Trump just announced that CBS will also give him $20 million in airtime, through ads and programming. Ask not what you can do for censorship — ask what censorship can do for you!
Colbert, in keeping with the best of comedy’s traditions, does not seem keen to leave quietly or self-censor. After Trump gloated on social media that “I absolutely love that Colbert was fired,” Colbert on his July 22 broadcast announced with characteristic, and comical, bravado that “the gloves are off.”
“How dare you, sir! Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism?” Then looking into the camera, he intoned: “Go f**k yourself.”
Now that’s funny. The perfect send-up of Trump’s humorless posts. But maybe if he returns to being the Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report,” instead of the Stephen Colbert of “The Late Show,” Trump’s animosity will turn to praise. After all, it’s very confusing.
