The host of CBS’s “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert, is using his first-ever Emmy win as a chance to take a shot at President Trump over his lack of an Emmy — something that has been a sore spot for the president in the past. 

Mr. Colbert opened his show on Tuesday by celebrating his Emmy win.

“We should’ve gotten canceled years ago,” he said in an apparent reference to CBS’s announcement that it is canceling “The Late Show” in May 2026. The decision to cancel the program prompted rival late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to launch a campaign for Mr. Colbert to win the Emmy for best talk series.

Mr. Colbert said, “This award belongs to the 200 hardworking people who make this show, first and foremost, the writers of this show. … But they don’t do it alone. The stage crew, production staff, talent, editors, the band, control room, props, graphics, research, digital, accounting, legal, wardrobe, make-up, security, maintenance, assistants, and interns. And of course, the audience department, who let in all of you gorgeous people every night.”

He expressed his gratitude to the members of the Television Academy who voted for his program, and he thanked Mr. Kimmel for paying for a billboard urging that “The Late Show” receive an Emmy. 

Mr. Colbert’s gracious tone ended there and turned to boasting as he took a jab at Mr. Trump, saying, “Speaking of Emmys, Donald Trump doesn’t have one.”

The jab about Mr. Trump’s lack of an Emmy has been a sore spot for the president. He was nominated for an Emmy for his hit show “The Apprentice” in 2004 and 2005, but did not get the award. 

Years later, Mr. Trump criticized the award show on X, writing, “The Emmys are all politics, that’s why, despite nominations, The Apprentice never won—even though it should have won many times over.”

The matter also came up in one of the 2016 presidential debates, when Hillary Clinton said, “There was even a time when he didn’t get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged against him.”

“I should’ve gotten it,” Mr. Trump shot back. 

The opportunity for Mr. Colbert to rub his award in Mr. Trump’s face comes as left-wing media reporters, activists, and senators have attributed the cancellation of “The Late Show” to CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, and its attempt to win the Trump administration’s approval of its merger with Skydance Media. 

CBS said the decision was “purely a financial” one, and Puck’s Matthew Belloni reported that Mr. Colbert’s show has been losing as much as $40 million a year. 

However, a far-left media reporter, Oliver Darcy, suggested that the program was canceled to placate the Trump administration. A week after Mr. Colbert’s show was canceled, the Federal Communications Commission approved the Skydance deal. The chairman of the commission, Brendan Carr, said that Skydance’s commitment to unbiased journalism was crucial to approving the deal. 

After CBS announced it was cancelling Mr. Colbert’s show, Mr. Trump posted 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! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”

Days later, Mr. Colbert shot back at the president, saying, “How dare you, sir. Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f— yourself.”

Mr. Colbert ended his opening monologue on Tuesday by mocking Mr. Trump for stating that 300 million people — roughly the population of America — died from drug overdoses in 2024. According to Our World in Data, there were roughly 3 million total deaths in America last year, and 62 million deaths worldwide. 

Mr. Colbert said, “That’s a lot of people. In fact, it would mean 90 percent of the U.S. population … died from drug overdoses last year.”

“Which would explain why we appear to be in hell. We’re all dead, and we’re in hell right now. But I, I found an angel,” he said as he held up his Emmy.