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

On 9/25/2025 6:29 PM, Rhino wrote:
> 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.

Late-night wants laughs, not provocation.