On Eve of Colbert's Final Show, Variety Suddenly Wonders If Host's Left-Wing Politics Went Too Far
Variety Magazine is asking some of the most thought-provoking questions of our age, such as: Could Stephen Colbert’s departure from late night television relate to his incessant, whiney leftist politics?
Well, yes.
Anyone who has followed Colbert’s downfall understands that’s the reason for it, but the outlet decided to write an entire piece about it anyway.
On Wednesday, Variety posted about “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” host on social media platform X asking, “Has #StephenColbert’s push into politics hurt the late-night format?”
“Late-night was never supposed to play to a particular type of audience: #JohnnyCarson made fun of politicians, but mostly their public goofs, not their policies. #JayLeno rarely became political. And #DavidLetterman feuded with politicians but not over what they did in Washington,” the post read.
“In 2026, late-night shows are a wholly different creation.”
Has #StephenColbert’s push into politics hurt the late-night format?
Late-night was never supposed to play to a particular type of audience: #JohnnyCarson made fun of politicians, but mostly their public goofs, not their policies. #JayLeno rarely became political. And… pic.twitter.com/QwJ7AJR7mm
— Variety (@Variety) May 20, 2026
This “different creation” label can more accurately cast late shows as leftist propaganda, making every excuse for the Democratic Party while lambasting President Donald Trump endlessly.
That is the essence of Colbert.
Variety’s Brian Steinberg writes, “How could this happen?
Colbert struck many new relationships with viewers — so many that his ‘Late Show’ became the most watched late-night show on TV, something CBS hadn’t achieved since David Letterman first moved over from NBC (Jay Leno brought the category title back to NBC in July of 1995).
“And yet, as he focused more on the headlines — and for much of his ‘Late Show’ tenure, President Trump — others who might have tuned in to late night began to feel Colbert was not for ‘them,'” the report noted.
“During his time at CBS, Colbert spearheaded a move to a more partisan brand of comedy, whether he intended to or not.”
Again, yes. Colbert becoming a mouthpiece for the left made people change the channel.
Thursday will mark the final show, but Variety’s inquiry was relevant years ago.
Colbert had every chance to pull back the reigns but chose to double down.
Who could forget when the host dedicated an entire segment to pushing an experimental vaccine in 2021?
Do you remember when Stephen Colbert pushed the COVID vaccine with men dressed as a large syringe on their heads? Was he also mentioned on the Epstein list? I’m sure he never took the vaccine.pic.twitter.com/vLPewCKN01
— Dr. Dawn Michael (@DawnsMission) February 4, 2026
There are countless other moments that lead to his demise; the reader need only search the keywords “Colbert” and “Trump” to find them.
It wasn’t hard to stick with the formula for success: be funny and entertaining to a large audience.
If Colbert couldn’t do that, there’s little reason to keep him.
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