Bruce Springsteen used Stephen Colberts second-to-last episode to unleash a pointed political broadside against President Donald Trump and the corporate leadership behind CBS, accusing them of punishing dissent and bowing to power.
Appearing on the penultimate broadcast of The Late Show, the rock legend opened by tying the programs cancellation to a broader atmosphere of intimidation surrounding media outlets that challenge the current administration. According to Mediaite, Springsteen framed Colberts ouster as a direct consequence of presidential thin skin and corporate capitulation rather than mere programming strategy.
I am here in support tonight for Stephen because youre the first guy in America whos lost his show because we got a president who cant take a joke, Springsteen declared to raucous applause inside the Ed Sullivan Theater, chuckling as he delivered the line. The remark played neatly into the lefts preferred narrative that any accountability or commercial decision affecting liberal entertainers must be politically motivated, rather than the product of ratings, budgets, or market realities.
The musician then escalated his criticism by naming billionaire Trump supporter Larry Ellison and his son David Ellison, whose company controls Paramount, the parent of CBS. And because Larry and David Ellison feel they need to kiss his ass to get what they want, Springsteen continued, before adding, Anyway, Stephen, these are small-minded people. They got no idea what the freedoms of this country are supposed to be about. This is for you.
Springsteen followed the remarks with a performance of Streets of Minneapolis, his anti-Trump protest song that attacks the administrations immigration enforcement, urban unrest, and the deaths of Alex Pretti and Rene Good at the hands of what he calls federal thugs. The lyrics denounce King Trump and the dirty lies of policy adviser Stephen Miller, underscoring Springsteens long-standing alignment with progressive politics and his disdain for the Presidents agenda.
Throughout the performance, slogans such as RESISTANCE and TRUTH flashed across an American flag backdrop, visually reinforcing a partisan message that equates opposition to Trump with patriotism. The final episode of Colberts show is scheduled for May 21, after CBS announced last year that the long-running franchise would end, officially citing financial considerations.
Network executives have maintained that the decision was driven by cost and shifting media economics, not politics or pressure from the White House. Yet critics on the left continue to insist that the timingcoming after Colbert blasted Paramounts $16 million settlement with Trump, reached while the company sought federal approval for a mergerproves a chilling effect, even as conservatives argue that corporate media rarely hesitates to platform anti-Trump voices and that viewers, not the President, ultimately decide which shows survive.
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