A Big Apple rally in support of on-his-way-out “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert drew fewer than two dozen people Sunday — with even the NYPD cops on scene quickly calling it a day since most of the demonstrators left after just a few minutes.

Organizers said the “We’re With Colbert” gathering outside the CBS Broadcast Center on Manhattan’s West Side said it was meant to be part of a nationwide call for “integrity.”
“Our country is not perfect, never has been,” said the event’s organizer, who would only identify himself as Matt and said his nickname is “Slim.”

Stephen Colbert

“But we’ve always had the First Amendment, and now Mango Mussolini is trying to take that from us,” he said, referring to a derogatory nickname for President Trump.

CBS said declining viewership and diminishing profits led to its decision to end the show in May 2026, effectively firing the 61-year-old talk-show host Colbert — but critics claim the network bowed to pressure from Trump.

Protest outside the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City supporting Stephen Colbert.

CBS’s parent company finalized an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media shortly after Colbert was told he was on his last season. The merger required federal approval.

Colbert has also been among the top talk-show hosts who routinely roast Trump.

Protestor holding a sign that reads "He Wants to Kill Our Laughter Heil to the No No!" in front of the CBS broadcast center in New York City.

“This is a First Amendment attack,” a protester who refused to give her name said of the closing-down of the show. “We can’t stand for that.”

Still, Colbert has also come under fire for featuring predominantly lefty-leaning guests.

According to the right-leaning group MRC NewsBusters, Colbert has had 176 liberal guests and only one Republican on his show since 2022.