Every Late Night Host That's Been On The Receiving End Of Trump's Fury

Although President Donald Trump goes after late-night show hosts every chance he gets, he still can't help but use them to boost his infamous ego at the same time. While chatting with Fox News host Greg Gutfeld in September 2021, the divisive politician took aim at one of his most vocal critics on late-night television: Jimmy Kimmel. Among many other things, Trump claimed that the comedian was desperate for his attention even before he became a politician, dishing, "[Kimmel] used to wait for me outside his studio in Los Angeles, very crowded street, he kissed my a** all the way in and then what happens? I run and then all of a sudden I'm like this horrible guy," (via Newsweek). According to the former "Apprentice" host, Kimmel's decision to wait on him was even more embarrassing because the super popular comedian was the only one who went through all that trouble (notably, Kimmel once blamed Trump for his show's drop in viewership). 

Nevertheless, in October 2022, the president proudly took credit for destroying late night TV. Taking to Truth Social to share a Fox News article detailing how certain shows that criticized him were getting lower ratings while Gutfeld's show's viewership was apparently skyrocketing, Trump wrote, "It was my great honor to have destroyed the ratings of Late Night 'Comedy' shows. There is nothing funny about the shows." Obviously, the Republican politician couldn't help but give Gutfeld a pat on the back for his success too. When Trump isn't boosting his ego at the expense of late-night talk show hosts who speak out against him, he's nursing his bruised ego by hurling insults at them.

After taking several pointed jabs at Donald Trump publicly, Stephen Colbert apologized to the real estate mogul when he appeared on his talk show in September 2015. However, their feud only got worse in the following years. In May 2017, the late-night show host made an NSFW joke about Trump and Vladimir Putin that rubbed the Republican politician the wrong way. The future president slammed Colbert in an interview with TIME that very same month, proclaiming, "You see a no-talent guy like Colbert. There's nothing funny about what he says. And what he says is filthy." 

He also couldn't help but give himself an ego boost, noting that Colbert's show's popularity had plummeted since his appearance. In a 2020 tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter, the former reality star similarly took aim at Colbert's talents while pointing out that Greg Gutfeld was faring far better in the ratings. Trump went off on a similar tangent while watching Colbert's September 2024 interview with PBS. In a Truth Social post, the outspoken politician clarified that he had only tuned in to understand "Why would they be wasting time and the public's money on this complete and total loser?" 

In addition to labeling Colbert "very boring," he also posited that "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" was on its last legs due to a steep decline in viewership. Trump obviously didn't hesitate to gloat upon hearing about its cancellation in July 2025. The outspoken Republican politician shared his response in another Truth Social post, writing, "I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings."

Watching Jimmy Kimmel host the 96th Academy Awards apparently sent Donald Trump spiraling. Taking to Truth Social in March 2024, the president heavily criticized Kimmel's performance, writing, "His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be." Trump had another meltdown on Truth Social in April, professing that Kimmel would "go down in Television History as the WORST HOST EVER OF THE ONCE VAUNTED ACADEMY AWARDS!" The divisive politician even posited that the glitzy event had suffered a significant ratings dip chiefly because of Kimmel's "horrendous performance." Notably, the 2024 Oscars drew in over 19 million viewers, a 4% rise from the previous year's ceremony. Speaking to Fox News in March of that year, Trump also argued that the host had made an incredibly stupid move by reading his Truth Social rant aloud on stage during the event itself. 

Clearly, the comedian really got under the president's skin because he went on to label Kimmel a talentless ratings killer. Then, in a July 2025 Truth Social post, he asserted that he had it on good authority that Kimmel would lose his job in the "untalented Late Night Sweepstake" that had ensued after "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's" cancellation. Speaking at a press conference in August 2025, Trump boasted that any inexperienced person would outperform Kimmel, Colbert, or Jimmy Fallon. Notably, Kimmel has also brutally slammed the Trump family several times. In fact, in June 2025, Kimmel said what everyone was thinking with a brutal swipe at Trump's marriage.

Donald Trump hasn't been able to hide his delicate ego while railing against late-night TV hosts like Seth Meyers. While watching him co-host "Live! With Kelly and Michael," in August 2012, the real estate mogul took to X to criticize Meyers for fidgeting and speaking as if he had "marbles in his mouth." Donald also stressed that he disliked the idea of the comedian filling Regis Philbin's shoes. He similarly labeled Meyers completely talentless while watching him host the Emmys in August 2014. The tension between them only grew once the divisive politician became president for the first time. 

During a June 2016 episode of "Late Night with Seth Meyers," the eponymous host confirmed that he had banned Donald from appearing on his show. However, in a statement shared with Variety, the former reality star claimed that he had refused to give in to Meyers' many pleas to appear, elaborating on his ego-filled reasoning, "I only like doing shows with good ratings, which as everybody knows, I only make better (by a lot)." Then, in January 2025, Meyers became the subject of one of Donald's infamous Truth Social rants. 

In addition to bestowing the nickname of "Marble Mouth Meyers" upon him, he also wrote, "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." To be fair, Meyers has done plenty to get under the president's skin. Meyers completely lashed out at Donald Trump Jr. in 2021, while Barron Trump has also been the butt of one of his late-night show jokes.

Donald Trump's September 2016 appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" ended up being equally regrettable for both parties. The talk show host was subjected to tons of backlash for going far too easy on Trump and humanizing him by cheekily messing up his famous hair. In a June 2018 interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Fallon confessed that the negativity took a tremendous toll on his mental health while also acknowledging that he deeply regretted his actions and apologizing for them to boot. Unsurprisingly, the real estate mogul wasn't pleased and called Fallon out via a rant on X. He described the apology as "whimpering," further adding that the comedian had called him after the show and told him they had enjoyed a ratings boost due to his appearance. Trump finished with some stern advice for the comedian: "Be a man Jimmy!" 

The X post seemingly wasn't enough for Trump to vent his frustrations, since he also criticized Fallon at a June 2018 campaign event. The now-president warned that Fallon would get more than what he bargained for with his apology since the talk show host's own supporters wouldn't be tuning in to watch him anymore. As Business Insider reported at the time, Trump further criticized Fallon by labeling him a "lost soul," and recommending that instead of being upset about the backlash, he should be grateful to him for the ratings boost. Trump continued fuming over Fallon into 2024, dubbing him "weak and pathetic" at a rally while still harping on about the same incident from eight years prior (via X).  

During a November 2015 appearance on "CBS This Morning," John Oliver shared that he had no desire to bring Donald Trump on as a guest for "Last Week Tonight" because he felt that the now-president couldn't offer any interesting thoughts and would only parrot the same dubious claims he had been repeating for ages. This statement apparently got under Trump's skin because he immediately took to X to slam the late-night show host, claiming, "John Oliver had his people call to ask me to be on his very boring and low rated show. I said 'NO THANKS' Waste of time & energy!" 

The outspoken politician had similar complaints about Jon Stewart too. He fired off at the comedian in a tweet from June 2015, sniping, "Jon Stewart is the most overrated joke on television. A wiseguy with no talent. Not smart, but convinces dopes he is! Fading out fast." In a November 2013 tweet, Trump made it clear that Stewart's nickname for him, "F**kface Von Clownstick," didn't sit well with him either, labeling the comedian "an overrated a**hole-total phoney." 

In several other tweets from the time, the divisive Republican politician called attention to how the talk show host didn't go by his real last name, Leibowitz, and criticized him for not staying true to his roots. Trump also took aim at Stewart's intelligence in several scathing posts, even claiming that the talk show host would be unable to debate him without the help of the writers who worked on his show. Trump also bestowed the nickname of "Little Jon Stewart" upon him.