On Stephen Colbert’s second-to-last “Late Show,” Robert De Niro and Bruce Springsteen traded sharp lines aimed at Donald Trump and others tied to Colbert’s departure. The White House responded the next day, dismissing Colbert and casting CBS’s cancellation as
When Stephen Colbert’s second-to-last “Late Show” aired Wednesday night, it played like a farewell party with a pulse—celebrity cameos, jokes traded like favors, and then two familiar swipes at President Donald Trump.
Robert De Niro appeared as part of “Colbert Questionert. ” a segment in which Colbert asked guests. “What number were you thinking of?” De Niro answered with a joke that landed squarely on politics: “OK. Cause I thought it would’ve been two million point five, or two and a half million. That’s the number of Epstein files Trump still hasn’t released.”.
Bruce Springsteen—also known for speaking out against Trump—closed the program with his new protest song. “Streets of Minneapolis.” Before the music began. he told the audience he was there “in support for Stephen because you’re the first guy in America who’s lost his show because we’ve got a president who can’t take a joke.”.
He also took aim at Paramount, adding, “Larry and David Ellison feel they need to kiss his a– to get what they want,” before continuing: “Stephen, these are small-minded people … they got no idea what the freedoms of this beautiful country are supposed to be about.”
The show’s momentum immediately carried into a political response. On Thursday, the White House hit back. A spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck with no talent and terrible ratings. which is exactly why CBS canceled his show and is booting him off the airwaves.”.
The timing wasn’t lost on viewers. Social media reactions to De Niro and Springsteen split along ideological lines, with comments praising Colbert’s finale and others ridiculing it.
One person wrote in a YouTube comment of Springsteen’s performance: “This is an absolute mic drop right there for the Late Show, and god, it’s hard to believe that all of this will end tomorrow.” Another agreed: “Mad respect to the Boss, a much better man than the one sitting in the oval office.”
About De Niro, a YouTube user posted: “So thrilled that Robert DeNiro Showed up, a living legend.”
On the other side. one X user called the moment “all so embarrassing” and attacked Springsteen’s intelligence and Colbert’s comedic credibility. saying: “Springsteen literally has an IQ of 80. at best. Colbert hasn’t ever been funny. somehow forgetting his job was to be a comedian. not engage in weird. leftist. cringe-inducing partisan nonsense that most people don’t want anything to do with. Should have been fired years ago.”.
Another X user called Springsteen “a ‘washed up musician. ’” adding that Colbert lost his show because “nobody was watching. revenues were tanking. and he was simply un-funny.” The same post repeated the White House line about Colbert: “Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck with no talent and terrible ratings. which is exactly why CBS canceled his show and is booting him off the airwaves.”.
That argument—whether politics played a role or ratings were the driver—was already part of the backdrop of Trump’s public attacks on entertainers. In April. Trump had called Springsteen “Bad. and very boring. ” saying he looks like a “dried up prune who has suffered greatly from the work of a really bad plastic surgeon. ” and describing him as dealing with “Trump Derangement Syndrome. sometimes referred to as TDS.” Trump added that “MAGA SHOULD BOYCOTT HIS OVERPRICED CONCERTS. WHICH SUCK. SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.”.
The “Late Show” episode itself wasn’t only about the two headlines. More than a dozen celebrities made surprise appearances on Wednesday night. including Amy Sedaris. John Dickerson. James Taylor. Billy Crystal. Jeff Daniels. Weird Al Yankovic. Josh Brolin. Tiffany Haddish. Martha Stewart. Aubrey Plaza. Jim Gaffigan. Ben Stiller. Mark Hamill. and Evie Colbert. Colbert’s wife Evie McGee Colbert also appeared, along with Colbert’s second-to-last show’s roster of guests.
Fox News Digital said it reached out to reps for De Niro and Springsteen for comment.
The day after the jokes and protest music, the White House response reframed what viewers saw on stage. To supporters, the night looked like a final stand in the face of political intolerance. To critics, it was proof that the departure was about performance and audience size—not pressure from power.
Stephen Colbert Late Show White House Robert De Niro Bruce Springsteen Trump CBS cancellation Paramount social media reaction Streets of Minneapolis Colbert Questionert
So the White House is mad he made jokes? fragile.
Wait I thought Colbert didn’t actually get canceled, like he just ended the contract or whatever. And now they’re saying “pathetic trainwreck” lol. Seems like both sides are doing too much.
De Niro bringing up Epstein files like that… is crazy. I saw someone else say it was about Biden or something though? Like who even knows anymore. Also Springsteen saying “lost his show” like it’s because Trump can’t take a joke… CBS just wanted ratings, come on.
This is what happens when you let Hollywood run the news cycle. Colbert “farewell week” and then suddenly it’s Epstein numbers and Minneapolis streets songs. White House responds with ratings and talent like that’s the point, but the whole thing is just people kissing the right rings (Paramount?) and yelling.