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

On 2025-09-25 12:34 p.m., Ubiquitous wrote:
> 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.
> 
BINGO!!!

And how about a little competition? Instead of only platforming 
left-friendly right-hating hosts of these shows, pick someone who is 
genuinely moderate or even openly right wing and then see who develops a 
following.

If the networks are still in business to make a profit, rather than 
pissing money away on shows that lose millions but deliver The 
Narrative, then they could program someone that might actually have a 
substantial audience and make money via advertising they way they used to.

Isn't Gutfeld's show doing pretty well? He certainly leans right so that 
should be proof that a right-leaning show can be a money maker.

Or program a genuine moderate - if you can find one - and see how that 
goes against the likes of Kimmel, Colbert and Gutfeld.
> Representatives from 'The Late Show' did not respond to a request for
> comment.
> 
> 


-- 
Rhino