The Fall of a Late-Night King: How Stephen Colbert’s Politics Destroyed His Career

The world of late-night television, once a reliable escape for millions of Americans, has become an ideological battleground. Hosts, who were once the jesters of the national court, have transformed into political preachers, and nowhere was this transformation more evident—or ultimately fatal—than with Stephen Colbert. For years, Colbert sat at the top of the late-night throne, the celebrated successor to David Letterman. But now, with the stunning cancellation of The Late Show, the kingdom has crumbled, leaving a trail of think pieces and a chorus of critics proclaiming, “I told you so.”

Leading that chorus is OutKick founder Clay Travis, a media provocateur known for his sharp commentary. In a blistering post-mortem on Colbert’s career, Travis argues that the comedian didn’t just lose his audience; he actively drove them away.

The “He’s Not Funny” Diagnosis

In a scathing critique that reverberated across the media landscape, Travis delivered his diagnosis for the death of The Late Show in two simple words: “He’s not funny.” This wasn’t a flippant remark, but the heart of a powerful argument. According to Travis, Colbert’s relentless focus on left-wing politics—particularly his obsessive anti-Trump rhetoric—had poisoned his comedic well. Instead of entertaining, Colbert became a nightly sermon for the progressive faithful, forgetting the cardinal rule of comedy: its primary job is to make people laugh, not validate political biases.

This critique taps into a broader cultural phenomenon known by many as the phrase “Get woke, go broke.” The theory suggests that when entertainers, brands, or franchises dive too deeply into partisan or progressive politics, they risk alienating a significant portion of their audience. Travis argues that Stephen Colbert is the ultimate example of this trend. In his zeal to become the voice of the “resistance,” Colbert effectively cut his audience in half. He was no longer speaking to all of America; he was speaking to a very specific, and ultimately insufficient, slice of it. While his barbs against Donald Trump and the Republican Party earned him applause from a sympathetic media and a loyal liberal following, they turned off millions of others who didn’t want to be lectured by a comedian before bed.

From The Colbert Report to The Late Show: A Tragic Decline

To understand the tragedy of Colbert’s fall, one must remember his meteoric rise. On Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, Colbert was a comedic genius, crafting a brilliant satirical character—a blowhard, right-wing pundit who was both ridiculous and strangely lovable. The show was a masterclass in irony and satire, skewering the political landscape with a wit that appealed to viewers across the spectrum. You didn’t have to agree with his personal politics to appreciate the brilliance of the performance.

When Colbert was chosen to take over for the legendary David Letterman on CBS’s The Late Show in 2015, it was seen as the culmination of his career. The shackles of his satirical character were off, and the “real” Stephen Colbert could finally shine. But as Travis and other critics point out, the “real” Colbert proved far less universally appealing than his fictional counterpart. The clever, subtle satire of The Colbert Report was replaced by blunt, often angry political commentary. The show became a nightly fixture during the Trump era, but not in a way that offered cathartic release for all. Instead, it became a predictable echo chamber, where the jokes were almost exclusively aimed at one side of the political aisle. The humor became secondary to the message, and for many viewers, this message was alienating.

The Rise of Greg Gutfeld and the Decline of Colbert

The numbers seem to support Travis’s thesis. While Colbert initially enjoyed a ratings bump following his move to The Late Show, he was eventually and consistently surpassed by Greg Gutfeld’s late-night show on Fox News, Gutfeld!. Gutfeld’s success, with his decidedly conservative and anti-establishment brand of humor, demonstrated that there was a massive, underserved audience hungry for comedy that didn’t mock their values. The rise of Gutfeld, juxtaposed with Colbert’s decline and eventual cancellation, paints a stark picture of a fractured entertainment market. It suggests that the old model of a universally beloved, apolitical late-night host like Johnny Carson is gone, replaced by a new paradigm where audiences seek out comedy that aligns with their worldview.

The $1.5 Billion Deal: A Lesson From Trey Parker and Matt Stone

Travis contrasts Colbert’s financial failure with the colossal success of figures like Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park. He points to their massive $1.5 billion deal as evidence that there is a huge market for comedy that is willing to mock everyone and everything, without fear or favor. South Park has built its empire on being an equal-opportunity offender, satirizing both the left and the right with equal glee. This, Travis argues, is the key to lasting success in entertainment: building a bigger tent by not excluding anyone from the joke.

Colbert, in Travis’s view, did the opposite. Instead of mocking all sides equally, he alienated half of his potential audience by building a wall around his show, making it a safe space for one ideology. Eventually, this narrow focus trapped Colbert in a shrinking circle of viewers.

The End of The Late Show: A Symbol of Cultural Division

The cancellation of The Late Show is more than just the end of a television program; it’s a symbolic moment in American culture. It represents a potential turning point for late-night comedy, forcing networks and hosts to confront a difficult question: is there a future for partisan comedy, or is the audience signaling a desire for a return to a more inclusive, less politically charged form of entertainment?

The silence from Colbert’s once-dominant show speaks volumes. It’s a cautionary tale about the dangers of sacrificing humor for political points. It’s a story of a comedy king who became so focused on fighting a political dragon that he burned his own kingdom to the ground. Clay Travis may have delivered the eulogy, but the evidence suggests that Stephen Colbert wrote it himself.

Conclusion: The End of the Colbert Era?

Stephen Colbert’s fall from late-night dominance is more than just a personal setback; it’s a reflection of the deep cultural divide in American society. His shift from satire to partisan political commentary marked a turning point, alienating a large swath of the audience that once adored him. As Colbert’s show joins the ranks of fallen late-night institutions, the debate over whether comedy should be politically charged or universally appealing will continue to rage.

In the end, Colbert’s cancellation serves as a stark reminder: comedy’s primary purpose is to entertain, not to preach. By turning his show into a nightly political sermon, Colbert alienated half his audience and ultimately paid the price. Whether or not his career can recover remains to be seen, but his fall is a cautionary tale for the entire entertainment industry.