Stephen Colbert spent years attacking President Donald Trump from behind his CBS desk.

Now he's out of a job and weighing his options.

And Stephen Colbert just dropped a bombshell about 2028 that has Democrats scrambling.

Colbert teases presidential run after CBS cancels his show

The Late Show host Stephen Colbert appeared at Slate's Political Gabfest podcast event on December 18 where hosts asked him point-blank about running for President in 2028.

The audience erupted in cheers when the question came up.

Colbert's initial response was predictably coy for a professional comedian.

"Absolutely not. Yeah, absolutely, I should not run for president," Colbert told hosts John Dickerson, David Plotz, and Emily Bazelon.¹

But then came the kicker that got everyone talking.

"I understand why you'd want me to," Colbert said in his trademark deadpan delivery as the crowd laughed and cheered.²

That's when things took a turn nobody expected.

"That is something I'm going to have to discuss with my faith leader and my family to see if, once my service on The Late Show ends in May, if I could be of some greater service to this nation that I love so much," Colbert added.³

The 61-year-old comedian then launched into an over-the-top patriotic soliloquy that sounded like it came straight from a Hollywood script about American exceptionalism.

"Because what I believe is, America's the last best hope of mankind, and if there's anything I can do to forward the mission of our Founding Fathers, whose love of freedom and belief in the rights of man abides in my heart, like the very blood in my veins and the strength in my arm," Colbert declared.⁴

The audience started chanting his name.

CBS pulled the plug on Colbert after he attacked Trump and the network

CBS announced in July 2025 that it was canceling The Late Show effective May 2026.

The network claimed it was purely a financial decision.

But the timing raised eyebrows across the media landscape.

The cancellation came just days after Colbert went nuclear on his own parent company Paramount over its $16 million settlement with President Trump.⁵

Trump had sued Paramount and CBS over how 60 Minutes edited its interview with Kamala Harris during the 2024 campaign.

Critics said Paramount settled primarily to clear a path for its merger with Skydance Media, which needed Trump administration approval.

"While I was on vacation, my parent corporation Paramount paid Donald Trump a $16 million settlement over his 60 Minutes lawsuit," Colbert said in his July monologue. "I am offended, and I don't know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company. But just taking a stab at it, I'd say $16 million would help."⁶

Democrat Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff both suggested CBS canceled Colbert for political reasons to appease Trump.

Trump celebrated the cancellation on Truth Social.

"I absolutely love that Colbert got fired," Trump wrote. "His talent was even less than his ratings."⁷

When Colbert addressed the cancellation on air, he told Trump to "go f*** yourself" with the profanity bleeped.⁸

The exchange perfectly captured Colbert's decade-long war with Trump that defined his tenure at CBS.

Colbert's track record shows Democrats want nothing to do with him

Colbert reminded the Political Gabfest audience that he'd tried this presidential stunt twice before in 2007 and 2012.

Both times he ran satirical campaigns only in his home state of South Carolina.

"I ran as president of the United States of South Carolina, because I only ran in South Carolina," Colbert explained. "And they got mad — everybody, Democrats more than Republicans, I'll tell you that. They got super mad at me."⁹

That's the part Democrats hoping for a serious 2028 run need to hear.

In 2007, South Carolina Democrats refused to put Colbert on the primary ballot even after he paid the $2,500 filing fee.

The Democrat Primary executive council rejected his application because they didn't consider him a serious candidate.

In 2012, Colbert held a massive rally for Herman Cain in Charleston that drew 7,000 people and ended with everyone singing the Pokémon theme song.

He failed to meet the filing deadline to get on the ballot.

"Seven thousand people. Absolutely beautiful. The College of Charleston. It was beautiful. And Herman Cain? He was fun. We closed the rally by singing the Pokémon song, 'Gotta Catch 'Em All,'" Colbert recalled.¹⁰

Colbert's current predicament tells you everything about his viability as a presidential candidate.

CBS canceled the number-one rated late-night show because it was losing more than $40 million per year.¹¹

Greg Gutfeld's show on Fox News crushes Colbert in the ratings with 3 million viewers compared to whatever Colbert was pulling before CBS pulled the plug.¹²

A presidential candidate who couldn't even hold onto a late-night TV audience has zero chance of winning a national election.

Democrats are desperate for fresh faces and new ideas after their 2024 wipeout.

Stephen Colbert represents neither.

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¹ "Stephen Colbert Reveals Whether Running for President in 2028 Is in the Cards," TV Insider, December 30, 2025.

² Ibid.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ "Was Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' canceled because of Trump? What to know," Newsweek, July 18, 2025.

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ "Stephen Colbert Claps Back at Trump's Gloating About 'Late Show' Cancellation: 'Go F— Yourself'," Variety, July 22, 2025.

⁸ Ibid.

⁹ "Stephen Colbert Reveals Whether Running for President in 2028 Is in the Cards," TV Insider, December 30, 2025.

¹⁰ Ibid.

¹¹ "Stephen Colbert responds to CBS canceling 'The Late Show' in May 2026," Fox News, July 22, 2025.

¹² Ibid.