🔥 BREAKING: TRUMP IN REAL TROUBLE After JIMMY KIMMEL & STEPHEN COLBERT RIP OPEN His DARK PLAN LIVE ON TV — LATE-NIGHT EXPOSÉ SENDS SHOCKWAVES THROUGH THE STUDIO ⚡

NEW YORK — When Donald Trump dismisses critics, he often does so in familiar terms. Late-night comedians, he has said repeatedly, have “no talent,” suffer from “bad ratings,” and survive only by attacking him. In recent weeks, those claims have resurfaced alongside a broader pattern of legal threats, public insults, and political pressure that media observers say raises renewed questions about the boundaries between power and speech.

The immediate targets have included Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, two of the most prominent figures in American political comedy. Mr. Trump has mocked both men publicly, suggesting they should be “going” and celebrating reports — disputed by the networks involved — that their shows had been suspended or canceled.

Those remarks came amid a separate controversy involving a lawsuit Mr. Trump filed against CBS and its parent company, Paramount, over an episode of 60 Minutes. The former president claimed the program deceptively edited an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount ultimately agreed to a $16 million settlement, a decision the company did not publicly frame as an admission of wrongdoing. Critics, including Mr. Colbert on his program, described the settlement as an example of corporate capitulation to political pressure at a moment when Paramount was seeking federal approval for a merger.

That criticism appeared to sharpen tensions. Within days, Mr. Colbert told viewers that CBS had informed him The Late Show would end after a decade on the air, a decision he characterized as sudden and difficult to separate from the broader political climate. CBS has not said the cancellation was politically motivated.

At ABC, Mr. Kimmel offered his own account of disruption. He told audiences that an episode of his show had been halted shortly before taping, with staff and guests sent home, after executives decided to “cool things down” following backlash to his monologue. Hundreds of employees, he said, lost a night of work. ABC has not confirmed that the decision was tied to presidential pressure.

Rather than retreat, the two hosts appeared together — first on The Late Show, then on Jimmy Kimmel Live! — in a display of solidarity unusual even in the collaborative world of late-night television. Mr. Kimmel introduced Mr. Colbert as an Emmy-winning host “made newly available,” a line that drew sustained applause. The message was less about jokes than about defiance.

“This isn’t about comedy,” Mr. Colbert told his audience. “It’s about whether dissent is allowed.”

The dispute has unfolded against a larger backdrop of concern among journalists and civil liberties advocates. Over the weekend, Pete Hegseth, a Trump ally, announced a proposed Pentagon policy that would require credentialed reporters to pledge not to publish information unless explicitly authorized, even if the material is unclassified. Press freedom groups warned that such a requirement would represent an unprecedented expansion of government control over reporting.

At the same time, Mr. Trump has continued to post extensively on social media about the 2020 election, repeating claims that courts and election officials have rejected. While world leaders convened for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to address global stability, Mr. Trump focused his attention on domestic grievances and perceived enemies.

In that context, the feud with late-night television has taken on added significance. Mr. Trump argues that comedians and journalists have abandoned neutrality and should respect the presidency. His critics counter that satire and investigative reporting are essential tools for holding power to account.

The public response has been swift. Mr. Kimmel’s first episode back drew unusually high viewership, according to network statements, while Mr. Colbert’s final season has been promoted as “appointment television.” Other hosts, including Seth Meyers and David Letterman, have voiced concern about the use of regulatory pressure and lawsuits against media organizations. Even some conservative commentators have cautioned that threats involving the Federal Communications Commission risk undermining First Amendment norms.

For Mr. Trump, the confrontations appear to follow a familiar pattern: attack, provoke, and dominate the conversation. Yet the result has often been the opposite of what he intends. Each denunciation has amplified the voices he criticizes, drawing attention to their arguments and expanding their audiences.

“This is what happens when power tries to silence speech,” Mr. Kimmel said during his return. “It just makes it louder.”

Whether the moment marks a turning point or merely another chapter in America’s long-running media wars remains unclear. What is evident is that the conflict has moved beyond punch lines. It has become a test of how resilient American institutions — from television networks to the press itself — will be when confronted with sustained political pressure.

In the end, the late-night hosts insist, the issue is not who gets the last laugh. It is whether dissenting voices are permitted to speak at all.