Free Speech? Former White House Official Says Colbert Would Only Book Him If He Trashed Trump

The National Security Advisor during President Donald Trump's first term said 
he was asked to go on CBS's "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert in 2024, but 
only if he would denounce Trump and tell the audience not to vote for him.

Retired United States Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster made the 
revelation during a recent episode of the GoodFellows podcast, a weekly 
Hoover Institution broadcast. Moderator Bill Whalen mentioned that late shows 
have "drifted to the Left," which prompted McMaster's response.

"When my book 'At War With Ourselves' came out, my publicist said, 'Hey, you 
know, the Stephen Colbert show said you could come on, but if you come on you 
have to condemn President Trump and recommend that nobody vote for him,'" 
McMaster said.

The retired lieutenant general said it was an "easy choice" to decide against 
the appearance, but noted how it points to the political sway of late-night 
programs in general.

"I don't know if it was just a producer or if it was Stephen Colbert 
directly, but you know, there has been this orthodoxy that has gripped late-
night television. So many of these monologues, honestly...they're just like 
diatribes. They're not funny. Which might be why the ratings are going down."

The controversy over late-night shows and free speech has reached a fever 
pitch, with leftists crying "censorship" and conservatives pointing out that 
this has been happening to right-wing entertainers for years. ABC's late-
night host, Jimmy Kimmel, was briefly taken off the air for spreading false 
information about Charlie Kirk's suspected assassin.

All the other major late-night hosts, including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy 
Fallon, and Jon Stewart, spoke out in support of Kimmel, but are being 
labeled as hypocrites by anyone who noticed that they had previously been in 
favor of conservatives being silenced for perceived slights. 

Clips of Kimmel joking about Roseanne Barr's show getting canceled for 
controversial comments went viral just after he was suspended, with followers 
pointing out the blatant hypocrisy. Kimmel can also be seen celebrating 
President Trump being banned from X and Tucker Carlson getting fired from Fox 
News.

McMaster said the answer isn't government "crackdowns," but letting low 
ratings bury the shows.

Representatives from 'The Late Show' did not respond to a request for 
comment.


-- 
Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they 
love this country.


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