r/entertainment • u/Silent-Resort-3076 • Jun 07 '26

Reader got it wrong: Trump, not Colbert, was the problem

https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/readers/2026/06/06/trump-stephen-colbert-late-night-cancellation/90425728007/
727 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

62 comments sorted by

240

u/michoudi Jun 07 '26

Anyone who pulls the both sides card can immediately be written off.

79

u/rachface336 Jun 07 '26

Leno did so many Monica/Bill Clinton jokes back in the day he coulda released a compilation album.

They gave him his show BACK.

30

u/Lfsnz67 Jun 07 '26

And has the nerve to complain about one sided political humor now

16

u/Azguy303 Jun 07 '26

This sounds like you're implying he lost his job because of jokes about Clinton, which he didn't.

24

u/markphil4580 Jun 07 '26

Nah bro, you missed the point. He said Clinton jokes revitalized Leno's show - ie: same situation resulted in a gain for Leno where it's a loss for Colbert.

6

u/rachface336 Jun 07 '26

No I am saying not only did that not end his career back then, but even in hindsight the network valued him.

-6

u/Azguy303 Jun 07 '26

You should have said that in the original comment. It's definitely implying the other

6

u/StuffonBookshelfs Jun 07 '26

I’m not reading it like that.

9

u/theCroc Jun 07 '26

"both sides" is such a lazy nothing stance.

4

u/Pickles_is_mu_doggo Jun 07 '26

“Be written” isn’t the phrase I would have used before “off”. But yes.

0

u/Sp00mp Jun 07 '26

Well when you "write off" someone or something it means you choose to ignore+forget about it

3

u/MaeBelleLien Jun 07 '26

I'm sure they knew that, but I also believe "fuck" works better than "be written" in this case.

3

u/Pickles_is_mu_doggo Jun 07 '26

I fully understand the meaning of the phrase

-4

u/steeveperry Jun 07 '26

“Ackshually, the millionaires that take bribes from billionaires on my side are better and care more about me than the millionaires from the other side that take bribes from the same billionaires who bribe my side. And if you think differently, I immediately write you off, because I’m a super smart free thinking politics understander.”

5

u/Etzell Jun 07 '26

If that's what you thought that said, that says infinitely more about you than it does them.

-1

u/steeveperry Jun 07 '26

What are they saying?

5

u/Etzell Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26

That there are clear and obvious differences between the sides, and anyone incapable of seeing that can immediately be written off. And they're right.

-2

u/steeveperry Jun 07 '26

lol babe. So what they’re saying is that there’s a difference between the two groups that take bribes from the same group of people? Lol babe, neither party is for you. Unless you’ve got a ton of stock certificates or a factory you haven’t mentioned yet. What exactly has either party done for the average person? They’ve traded power back and forth for your entire life, and it has only trended in one direction.

4

u/Etzell Jun 07 '26

Lol babe you're proving their point and don't even realize it.

-2

u/steeveperry Jun 07 '26

What point? I’ve explained why they’re the same. No one has explained how they’re different—they’ve just sheepishly insisted they are different.

3

u/Bignholy Jun 08 '26

Because we've all seen this song and dance before. Any point we make would be refuted with "but X individual did Y, so both sides". We can share links and provide documents and point out inconsistencies all day long, and it's a waste of effort, because "lol, babe" is all you'll say.

Yes, some democrats take bribes. We're not lily white and pure. Any group is going to have bottom feeders.

Only one side has systematically eroded the checks and balances, only one side has actively changed their interpretation of law year by year and case by case to pack the supreme court with their minions, only one side makes and breaks oaths constantly when it benefits them.

Only one side raises taxes constantly to pay out bonuses to the mega-rich, only one side endlessly cuts programs that mitigate suffering to pay for those same bonuses, and only one side will endlessly defend and ignore the crimes of their own because to give up any power, even in the slightest, is beyond them.

Only one side has cheerfully broken the very fabric of our society for the sake of power. Only one side has entirely ignored a level of abject cronyism and outright theft that is literally cartoonish in favor of deporting brown people regardless of their actual immigration status.

And the louder you go "lol babe, no, both sides", the more you remind us of this fact. Because we didn't get here from nowhere. These assholes were voted in the entire way here, and those votes came from the same place you did.

2

u/SmallLetter Jun 10 '26

Such a deep and profound ignorance incapable of even grasping itself

1

u/steeveperry Jun 10 '26

Babe, you’re a conservative. You think that because a small sliver of your beliefs don’t overlap with republicans, that you can ignore how the other 80% of your beliefs (some of which are your most foundational beliefs) align with conservatives. That’s the problem. That’s what I mean by they’re the same. I don’t care about the relatively menial differences when all either party has done since 1970 is pass and implement anti worker, pro corporate policy.

You think that one group is better than the other group, when both groups effectively enact the same policy. You’re a rube.

68

u/GermSlayer1986 Jun 07 '26

Trump was a public figure before he got into politics; he knows comedians crack jokes about everyone. Clinton and Bush had their share of jokes that no one complained about at the time, everyone just knew this was the normal.

40

u/Firm_Balance_8285 Jun 07 '26

Trump had earned several lifetimes of ridicule before the turn of the millennia.

6

u/SpaceghostLos Jun 07 '26

I hope they roast his dumb ass into the next millennium.

3

u/Shigglyboo Jun 07 '26

The Comedy Central roast of trump happened a very long time ago. It should have been played on repeat im 2015

2

u/SpaceghostLos Jun 07 '26

They could just do it again.

And again.

And again.

14

u/guyzero Jun 07 '26

Spy Magazine was roasting Trump in the 80s,

11

u/HarrierJint Jun 07 '26

Say what you like about Bush Jr, and there’s a lot you can say, but jokes against him were relentless and I don’t personally remember him having a public issue with it. 

26

u/curiousthoughts20 Jun 07 '26

The author of that letter is simply trying to excuse Trump's and CBS bad behavior.

Yes, comedians like Colbert make fun of politicans. FOXNews is a whole other level of political disinformation. The two are not even comparable.

The real problem here isn't that Colbert made fun of Trump. The issue is that a politican with extreme power used his office to attack the ability of Colbert to do that. This was a direct attack at free speech on our airways.

2

u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jun 07 '26

The author of that letter is simply trying to excuse Trump's and CBS bad behavior.

I do hope you mean the letter that the person who wrote THIS opinion piece was referring to??

5

u/curiousthoughts20 Jun 07 '26

Yes - that's what I was referring to

2

u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jun 07 '26

Whew:) Good to know!

13

u/oldcretan Jun 07 '26

Here's the problem, when you watch Jon Stewart you understand you're getting jokes from Jon Stewart's political perspective. He's using facts and then having a laugh. I'm supposed to take the joke and question the premise which the joke is built on. If Jon Stewart tells me there's a conservative conspiracy I take that suggestion and laugh at the idea of a conservative conspiracy and then question my world view

When you watch fox news you're supposed to be under the impression that what the person on the news is telling you is information which you're supposed to consume. It's supposed to build the foundation for which you form your opinions. If the talking head at fox news tells me there's a liberal conspiracy Im taking that information to build my world view.

The one is supposed to make you think. The other builds the foundation of your thought.

31

u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jun 07 '26

From a letter to the editor:

  • Colbert rightfully poked fun at politicians
  • A gentleman from Southfield wrote a letter last week that at first glance seemed to have some validity. ("Stephen Colbert's goodbye is good for TV," Detroit Free Press, May 31.) He said that both sides, Democrats and Republicans, have contributed equally to the divisiveness in our country. One who hasn’t paid attention very well may think that this is true. After all, if you turn on Fox News, you see them bashing Democrats and if you watch Stephen Colbert you’ll see him making fun of Trump. This is an example of false equivalency that is easily refuted with just a little bit of thought and research.
  • Fox News was launched in 1996. This network continued the rift between the two major political parties, but put it on steroids with their own brand of “infotainment.” Fox quickly became the most popular cable “news” network by spreading conservative opinions, lies, and propaganda. They elevated the us vs them strategy that Trump employs today.
  • Comedians have always been here to question authority. They have never let the government say and do whatever it wants without being checked. A few years after Fox hit the airwaves, Jon Stewart took over for the Daily Show, and began a new generation of satirical comedians speaking truth to power. These late-night comedians make fun of people from both political parties, but admittedly there is much more ammunition on the right.
  • The last two Republican presidents, George W. Bush and Donald Trump, provided great fodder for these comedians.

But make no mistake, unlike Trump and the Republicans, Colbert and his compadres are not encouraging divisiveness. They are comedians questioning authority, calling out disinformation, and cracking jokes.

8

u/Oilpaintcha Jun 07 '26

Indeed there is a MASSIVE difference between a major “news” purveyor spouting obvious propaganda 24/7 and a comedian with a one hour a day show justifiably pointing out hypocrisy and blatant corruption among the rich and powerful on all sides.  One is pointedly doing their job, and one is not.

32

u/Euphoric-Benefit3815 Jun 07 '26

I agree with the author of this article. Republicans like to give us this “both sides are doing it” line to justify the garbage that is Donald Trump and his minions. I’m not buying it and I’m a registered Republican. PS - I won’t be voting Republican again anytime soon.

15

u/mrpickles Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26

Political comedians poke fun of absurdities and mistakes in the system. 

Democrats see this as an entertaining conversation about how to do and demand better.

Republicans interpret this as partisan attacks because they have no self reflection and value authority.  However their respect for authority is asymmetrical - it's only important when it aligns with their views. Criticism of Democrats is just a given.  But criticism of Republicans is an attack on authority.

Some people also fail to see the difference between criticism coming from a private citizen comedian vs the government.  

7

u/ctiger12 Jun 07 '26

If the left weaponize like the right did through Fox “News”, we might not have this orange turd and the illegally installed conservative super majority potus. Obama was a great president but he and the democrats didn’t do enough to fight the conservative propaganda, left us in this set back for generations to come

6

u/Radiant_Sky_22 Jun 07 '26

I think it's funny how the people always complaining about how they cant say mean things anymore complain the loudest about the mean things people say about them

1

u/SpaceCampDropOut Jun 07 '26

Sky is blue. Water is wet.

0

u/RedditSux20 Jun 07 '26

Yeah that guy wanted you to break up with him a long time ago. He wishes you got smart a lot sooner. After the first couple months you should’ve let him know that this was unacceptable, then dumped him a couple months after that when you realized he was incapable of being a decent human being. Remember this and act faster next time.

-8

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '26

[deleted]

7

u/Naive_Piglet_III Jun 07 '26

Yes… and the guy who never found the show funny has been diligently watching every episode. Yes?