The late-night shows returned to TV on Monday for the first time in five months, and it seems at least one former US president was watching.
“Now that the “strike” is over, the talentless, low rated CREEPS of Late Night Television are back,” Donald Trump ranted on his Truth Social website. “I knew there was a reason I didn’t want to see it settled - True LOSERS!!!”
In another post, he called them “poorly rated and not at all funny” and claimed the shows were a “major” campaign contribution to Democrats.
“Watch what is going on,” he wrote. “So interesting!”
Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers were all back on the air on Monday after the resolution of the five-month-long writers strike, and all were heavy with jokes about Trump. Jimmy Fallon also returned to TV, although Trump was a much smaller part of his monologue.
John Oliver returned on Sunday night, while The Daily Show will resume next week.
Trump has long had a problem with the late-night shows for mocking him, and has attacked Kimmel, Colbert, Jon Stewart, Saturday Night Live, and Alec Baldwin, among others.
Earlier this year, Rolling Stone reported that Trump White House officials made at least two phone calls in 2018 to a top Disney executive demanding that the network take action against Kimmel over his Trump jokes.
Disney is the parent company of ABC, which airs Jimmy Kimmel Live.
After the report, Kimmel blasted Trump as a “fragile little snowflake” who can’t handle a little humour.
In addition, The Daily Beast reported in 2021 that Trump asked the Justice Department to investigate late-night comics who made fun of him. He was so obsessed, the website reported, that he asked his advisors if the Federal Communications Commission or courts could stop the jokes.