Stephen Colbert refused to pull any punches Thursday night as he spoke about the State of the Union and compared Kristi Noem to a cosmetically-enhanced camel.
The Late Show host – whose program will end in May – used his monologue to mock President Trump’s SOTU Nielsen ratings – which showed an 11 percent decrease in viewers from last year.
‘Donald Trump is really dragging down broadcast television,’ Colbert said. ‘I mean, if I were CBS, I’d cancel him.’
The quip earned raucous applause and cheers from Colbert’s audience – who have stood by the comedian as he remains under fire from his own network.
‘But you know, linear television is doomed and everyone’s ratings are going down right?’ the host continued, making a shrewd reference to CBS and Paramount’s statement that his show was canceled due to declining late night revenues.
‘I’m sorry, what’s that? Our ratings were up seven percent,’ Colbert then announced, prompting those in the crowd to start chanting his name.
‘You know what I think’s going on?’ the comedian continued. ‘People may not like watching Trump, but they do like watching me not like watching Trump.’
From there, Colbert segued into jokes about how a camel beauty contest in Oman was struck by a Botox cheating scandal – and made a dig at Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Stephen Colbert began the monologue of The Late Show on Thursday by bringing up the Nielsen ratings for President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address
The ratings showed Trump’s address received 11 percent fewer viewers than last year
He pulled up excerpts from a news article about the scandal, which said the camels were enhanced with hyaluronic acid injections, dermal fillers, silicone and Botox.
‘That is a lot of procedures for one camel,’ Colbert quipped.
‘What would that even look like?’ he then asked, as a picture of Noem flashed on screen.
‘OK yes,’ the late night host then said, as his audience started laughing and applauding.
‘She looks good,’ he continued. ‘That is a beautiful camel, that is a beautiful camel.’
But the fiery monologue on Thursday was just Colbert’s latest dig at the Trump administration following the news that his show would be canceled after 10 seasons.
Some have said the decision was politically-motivated to appease Trump, who praised the network’s decision to let go of Colbert.
‘I absolutely love that Colbert got fired,’ Trump posted to his Truth Social page. ‘His talent was even less than his ratings.’
Colbert also hit out at Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, comparing her to a camel with beauty enhancements
Those critics have noted that The Late Show’s cancelation came as the Federal Communications Commission was deciding whether to approve the $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance Media.
But others said the decision to cancel the show was just business as usual, arguing that Colbert’s left-leaning politics alienated a significant chunk of potential audience members.
