‘The bar has changed’: Colbert’s late-night show is ending and Obama suggests that he’d make a better president than one recent occupant
The end of an era.
Stephen Colbert’s late-night run is officially ending in May 2026, and the final episodes have been packed with some surprisingly sharp political jabs, including a moment where former President Barack Obama suggested the comedian might actually outperform a certain recent president. During a May 5 interview on The Late Show, Obama didn’t hold back as he critiqued the state of presidential norms, all while Colbert grinned and the audience erupted in applause.
The conversation took a playful turn when Obama laid out his vision for how the White House should operate. According to Fox News, Obama said, “We’re gonna have to do some work to return to this basic norm, and we probably now have to codify it. The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the Attorney General to go around prosecuting whoever the president wants.”
He then argued that the military shouldn’t be politicized and that presidents shouldn’t have “a bunch of side hustles” where foreign entities can invest. Colbert, ever the quick wit, fired back with a joke: “How much of that is just jealous that you didn’t think of selling a sneaker? Because your sneakers would have flown. You know that, right? You would have banked coin.” Obama laughed, calling the idea of financial conflicts an “obvious principle.”
Then Colbert brought up internet chatter suggesting he should run for president
“For the record, I think it’s a stupid idea,” he said, deadpan. “How dumb do you think it is for people to say that I should run for president?” Obama said, “The bar has changed.” He followed it up with a laugh and a line that sent the audience into hysterics: “I think that you could perform significantly better than some folks that we’ve seen.” Colbert asked if that was an endorsement but Obama clarified it wasn’t. Still, the implication was clear enough to make the joke land.
The interview also touched on the Democratic Party’s internal divisions, with Colbert name-dropping figures like Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and progressive firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The audience cheered at the mention of AOC and fellow democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, but Obama shrugged off the idea of a serious rift. “I’m not so worried about this so-called rift between the left and liberals,” he said.
“Because I think that within the Democratic Party, and I would argue a bunch of independents and even some Republicans as well, there’s an overarching belief in equality, fairness, if you work then you should be able to make a living wage and support a family and retire with dignity.” He framed the debate as more about policy specifics than fundamental divides, a rare moment of optimism in a party often portrayed as fractured.
Colbert’s exit from late-night has been a long time coming
CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show last July. The final episode airs soon, capping off a run that saw the host evolve from a satirical conservative pundit on The Colbert Report to one of the most vocal critics of the Trump administration. In a recent interview, Colbert didn’t mince words about why he thinks he and other comedians have become targets.
“Authoritarians don’t like anybody who doesn’t give them undue dignity,” he said. “Comedians are anti-authoritarian by nature. And authoritarians are never going to like anybody to laugh at them.” He added that the frustration from political figures stems from the fact that comedians can say things journalists can’t. “The number of newspeople who have said to me or Jon Stewart or any of the guys who do this, ‘God, I wish I could say what you say on air.’ And we can.”
Asked if he regretted how partisan late-night has become, Colbert said, “I don’t have any problem with Trump being a Republican. I have a problem with Trump being a complete narcissist who is only working for his own interest and does not appear to care if the entire world burns. That’s not a partisan position.”
He rejected the idea that late-night hosts are “roughing the ref,” arguing that the real issue is the sheer absurdity of the current political landscape. “There’s just no comparison of how fertile the fields are,” he said, referring to the endless material provided by the Trump era.
Not everyone has been kind about Colbert’s final season
Variety ripped the show as “not very good TV,” criticizing it for being out of touch with everyday Americans as Colbert spent his last months hosting a parade of liberal celebrities. The White House had harsher words. A spokesman dismissed Colbert as a “pathetic trainwreck with no talent and terrible ratings,” adding that CBS was right to cancel the show.
The end of The Late Show also reflects broader shifts in the media landscape. Late-night TV, once a dominant force in shaping cultural conversations, has seen its ratings decline as podcasts and digital content eat into its audience. Colbert, like many of his peers, has a massive online following, but the era of appointment viewing for late-night shows seems to be fading.
Whether that’s a sign of changing tastes or just the natural evolution of media, it’s clear that Colbert’s departure marks the end of an era, one where a comedian could become a thorn in the side of the most powerful people in the world and still pack a studio audience every night. As for Obama’s playful suggestion that Colbert could outperform certain presidents? It’s hard to imagine the former host actually throwing his hat into the ring.
(Featured image: Pete Souza)
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