Stephen Colbert, the liberal host of CBS’s Late Show, was reportedly met with boos and jeers from his studio audience Tuesday night after he reported that “Donald Trump is very much alive.”
The reaction came after days of online conspiracy theories speculating that the president had died during a brief pause in his public schedule.
“When I came back into the office, I was shocked to learn that this weekend, the biggest story was frenzied social media rumors speculating whether Donald Trump had died,” Mr. Colbert said at the start of his monologue. He then confirmed the obvious: “For the record, Donald Trump is very much alive. OK?”
But rather than relief, the declaration sparked a wave of boos from the audience. Mr. Colbert, momentarily taken aback, scolded his crowd: “No! We like our presidents alive.”
The strange moment reflected not only the bizarre life of an internet rumor but also the depth of hostility toward Mr. Trump among progressive audiences.
The fact that a studio crowd in New York openly jeered the president’s survival highlighted the level of contempt Mr. Trump continues to face from America’s cultural and media establishment.
The rumor itself had circulated feverishly online, with users pushing supposed “clues” that suggested a White House cover-up of the president’s health.
The speculation had no basis, but it spread quickly through social media echo chambers that have long trafficked in anti-Trump conspiracy theories.
Mr. Trump himself dismissed the chatter as absurd. On Monday, he wrote on Truth Social that the rumors of his passing were greatly exaggerated and flatly “crazy,” while adding that he had “NEVER FELT BETTER.”
By Tuesday, the president used a press conference to mock the frenzy. “Last week I did numerous news conferences and then I didn’t do any for two days and they said, ‘There must be something wrong with him,’” Mr. Trump said. “Biden wouldn’t do them for months.”
That quip captured the president’s ongoing contrast with his predecessor. While Mr. Biden often avoided press availability for weeks at a time, Mr. Trump’s regular appearances have made his brief absence more noticeable.
Still, the leap from a two-day break to widespread claims of death underscored the eagerness of some corners of the internet—and of Mr. Trump’s critics—to seize on any suggestion of crisis inside the White House.
Mr. Colbert attempted to downplay the conspiracy, joking that the entire saga began “simply because Trump had zero events on his schedule Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.” But the reaction from his audience seemed to reveal a deeper sentiment. For many in the media and entertainment world, Mr. Trump’s survival is unwelcome news.
In the end, the president’s critics were left disappointed. “Donald Trump is very much alive,” Mr. Colbert repeated, attempting to quiet the crowd. The boos, however, lingered as a telling reminder of the disdain that dominates late-night television—and the audiences it cultivates—when it comes to the sitting president of the United States.
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