Stephen Colbert was extra cheerful on Wednesday night’s episode of The Late Show because he learned President Donald Trump was reportedly named in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
During his opening monologue, the host brought up the Wall Street Journal‘s latest report, which alleges that Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump his name was among many high-profile figures mentioned in the files of Epstein’s sex-trafficking investigation before the Justice Department announced it would not be releasing the files publicly earlier this month.
“There’s been a lot of smoking guns in this case, but shortly before we taped this show, we got the smokiest yet — because the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that back in May, Attorney General Pam Bondi informed the president that his name was in the Epstein files,” Colbert said, before jokingly acting surprised by the revelation. “What! ‘But he said he hardly knew the guy!’”
A gleeful Colbert then said directly to the camera as his live studio audience cheered: “He’s in the files! He’s in the files! Yay! Yay!”
“You know how they say there’s no such thing as bad publicity? They’re not talking about this,” the host continued. “The president wasn’t alone. An official familiar with the documents said they contain hundreds of other names. Of course, names like Donald Trump, Donald John Trump, Donald J. Trump, Donny Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Father, Big Daddy, Big Daddy Bronzer, aka the Donald, and a mystery man known only as micropenis DJT.”
Colbert’s latest roast of Trump came days after he clapped back at the president, who previously celebrated the news of The Late Show being canceled. Last week, CBS abruptly announced that the long-running late-night talk show would be coming to an end in May 2026.
In response, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! [Fox News late night host] Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”
The host then said on Monday’s Late Show episode, “How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go fuck yourself,” drawing cheers from his live audience.
CBS cited a “financial decision” amid a declining linear TV landscape for the cancellation. However, the show’s cancellation announcement came after Colbert criticized Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, for agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit from Trump, who sued over former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 60 Minutes interview. Sources previously told The Hollywood Reporter that Paramount believed the lawsuit posed a threat to the Paramount-Skydance merger, as the deal awaits approval by the FCC under the Trump administration.