The media meltdown continues. One by one, the loudest voices in television and radio are going dark. Stephen Colbert’s show is ending. Howard Stern’s career is on life support. Rosie O’Donnell fled the country. These aren’t just random retirements or personal choices. This looks more like the long, slow crash of Trump Derangement Syndrome finally catching up with its loudest carriers.
From Mockery to Mediocrity: Colbert and Stern Burn Out After Years of Trump Obsession
Stephen Colbert built his entire post-2016 persona around mocking Donald Trump. It worked for a while. Ratings climbed during the early Trump years. Colbert couldn’t go one night without dragging the former president. His opening monologues turned into progressive pep rallies. But that gimmick has worn thin. CBS just announced The Late Show will wrap up in 2026. Network executives say it’s due to budget cuts and corporate restructuring. But if the show had been crushing it in ratings, it wouldn’t be on the chopping block. The reality is simple. Viewers got tired of watching the same recycled anti-Trump jokes night after night.
Even Colbert’s on-air breakdown over Trump’s legal settlement with CBS felt more like a final whimper than a powerful stand. He said the gloves were off. But the audience barely noticed. Once you’ve screamed “dictator” and “traitor” for seven years straight, where else is there to go?
Howard Stern isn’t faring any better. His $500 million SiriusXM contract is about to expire. He says he’ll return live in September, but the buzz around him has vanished. Donald Trump recently pointed out that Stern’s show tanked after endorsing Hillary Clinton in 2016. He’s not wrong. Stern alienated millions of longtime listeners by turning into the exact kind of sanitized, celebrity-friendly host he used to mock. He once made a living tearing down the elite. Now he begs them to like him.
Last year, Howard Stern said he “hated” anyone who voted for Donald Trump and demanded they stop listening to his Radio Show.
Today, it’s been announced that SiriusXM has CANCELED ‘The Howard Stern Show’ after his Ratings plummeted.
FAFO, Howard!
pic.twitter.com/4eWqX05OSf
— Cillian (@CilComLFC) August 6, 2025
Rosie Ran, Stern Softened, and the Audience Walked Away
Stern went from being the voice of rebellion to a soft-spoken liberal uncle. His listeners didn’t follow him there. They went elsewhere. Joe Rogan and a thousand other podcasters filled the vacuum. Stern bet big on elitist respectability and lost the edge that made him a legend. TDS didn’t just infect him—it transformed him into everything he used to ridicule.
Rosie O’Donnell didn’t just change direction. She left the country. Earlier this year, she moved to Ireland, claiming it was for her non-binary child’s safety and a fresh start. But anyone paying attention knows she just couldn’t handle living in a country where Trump might win again. Her political obsession became personal exile.
Rosie used to be relatable. She had mainstream appeal. She was charming, funny, and likable. But Trump broke her. She hasn’t been the same since their feud went public nearly two decades ago. She built her social media presence on relentless anti-Trump commentary. It didn’t land. People tuned out. Her attempts at cultural relevance now feel more like desperation than influence.
TDS Isn’t a Punchline—It’s a Career Killer
Trump Derangement Syndrome isn’t just a meme. It’s a real phenomenon. It turns once-interesting entertainers into single-issue nags. It narrows their worldview until everything is filtered through orange-tinted rage. Eventually, the audience notices. Americans can handle disagreement. What they reject is obsession.
The entertainment industry spent years telling us Trump was the end of democracy, the rise of fascism, the return of Hitler. Then he left office, and the sky didn’t fall. Inflation did. Crime did. But Trump didn’t. The narrative collapsed under its own weight, and the people pushing it now look ridiculous.
Stephen Colbert will go out with a whimper, not a bang. Howard Stern might slink into retirement with a fraction of his old audience. Rosie O’Donnell will tweet from Dublin and pretend she’s making a brave political statement. Meanwhile, the rest of us are watching their exits like a slow-motion train wreck. What do they all have in common? Years of TDS, untreated and terminal.
And now the question is, who’s next?
Jimmy Kimmel has already shown signs of fatigue. His smug monologues and recycled Trump jabs have turned into background noise. Ratings are down. His grip on the cultural moment is slipping. Seth Meyers is barely hanging on. His show never quite broke into mainstream relevance without Trump as a daily punching bag. If the networks start trimming more fat, they’ll both be on the shortlist.
Elsewhere, Don Lemon is trying to reinvent himself after his CNN ouster, but nobody seems interested. Joy Behar and The View still have Trump in office to rage about, but even that well is starting to run dry. The outrage feels stale. The talking points feel recycled. Even Saturday Night Live is flailing. The political sketches have turned into therapy sessions instead of comedy. When the punchline becomes predictable, the audience disappears.
They Chose Politics Over Punchlines—and Got Burned
The lesson here isn’t just about Trump. It’s about what happens when entertainers become activists who mistake applause for truth. They chose ideology over honesty. Rage over relevance. Eventually, their platforms couldn’t hold the weight of their own bitterness.
Late-night comedy, once a place for common-ground laughter, became a tool for political scolding. Talk radio lost its edge when it surrendered to safe takes and virtue signaling. And the stars who embraced the Resistance full-time now find themselves without a spotlight.
Maybe they should’ve stuck to jokes. Maybe they should’ve listened to their audiences instead of lecturing them. But they didn’t. Now they’re fading into the background, left wondering what went wrong.
The answer is simple. Trump Derangement Syndrome burns hot and fast. And when the fire runs out, all that’s left is ash.
Featured Image: Bill Norton, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons/Montclair Film Fest, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons/David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons/edited and collaged in Canva Pro
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