In the high-stakes, cutthroat world of network television, few things are as consequential as a top-tier show’s cancellation. But when CBS announced the end of Stephen Colbert’s long-running late-night program, it was more than just a business decision; it was a political earthquake. The aftershocks are still being felt, and now, Donald Trump is at the epicenter, not only celebrating the move but also issuing a dire warning to the remaining late-night titans, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon: “They’re next.” This latest salvo in a long-standing feud between a powerful political figure and late-night comedy has reignited a fierce debate, leaving many to wonder if Trump’s words are just political bravado or a chilling prophecy of a late-night reckoning.

Trump’s public commentary on the matter began almost immediately after CBS announced the cancellation. In a celebratory post on his social media platform, he didn’t mince words. He gleefully declared that he “absolutely love[d] that Colbert got fired” and attributed the show’s demise to a “pure lack of TALENT.” He went on to dismiss Colbert’s brand of political comedy as a failed business model, stating, “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.”

But Trump didn’t stop there. He doubled down on his predictions in a subsequent press conference, delivering a scathing indictment of the entire genre. In a Q&A with a correspondent from a right-leaning news outlet, he was asked if the “hate Trump” business model in entertainment had run its course. “Well, it hasn’t worked,” Trump replied, adding, “Colbert has no talent. I mean, I could take anybody here. I could go outside in the beautiful streets and pick a couple of people that do just as well or better. They’d get higher ratings than he did. He’s got no talent.” He then turned his sights on the competition, declaring, “Fallon has no talent. Kimmel has no talent. They’re next. They’re going to be going. I hear they’re going to be going.”

The timing of Colbert’s cancellation has only added fuel to the fire. It came shortly after CBS’s parent company, Paramount, settled a lawsuit with Trump for a reported $16 million over a segment on “60 Minutes.” It also occurred as Paramount was seeking federal approval for a major merger with Skydance Media. To many critics on the left, the timing was too convenient to be a coincidence, a possible political concession to a figure who has long demanded media outlets be held accountable for their coverage. The fact that Colbert’s show was, according to some reports, the highest-rated in its time slot, only deepened the mystery and heightened speculation that the move was politically motivated.

However, CBS has been quick to push back against this narrative, insisting that the cancellation was a “purely a financial decision.” According to the network, the show was losing a staggering amount of money annually, a figure that was only projected to get worse in a challenging late-night television landscape. For many, this explanation is hard to reconcile with the show’s perceived popularity and critical acclaim. But for Trump, the narrative is simple and clear: the liberal late-night hosts are not only bad for business, but their style of comedy has alienated a vast portion of the country, leading to a natural and deserved collapse.

Trump’s latest comments have created a state of high anxiety within the late-night community. While Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have responded to Trump’s past attacks with a mix of humor and defiance, the stakes now feel higher than ever. With one of their contemporaries already off the air, Trump’s public predictions carry a certain weight, a chilling sense that his words might be a glimpse into a future he is actively trying to shape. The question now is whether Kimmel and Fallon’s networks, ABC and NBC, will stand by their hosts in the face of mounting pressure, or if they too will capitulate to the financial and political forces at play.

This isn’t just a story about television; it’s a story about power, ratings, and the future of political commentary in America. The late-night wars have never been more intense, and with one of the biggest combatants already off the air, Trump’s bold declaration that Kimmel and Fallon are “next” has turned the battle into a full-blown existential crisis for the entire genre. The late-night world is holding its breath, and the only thing that seems certain is that the punchlines are about to get a lot more serious.