David Letterman Scorches Trump With Some Blunt Leadership Advice

Letterman gave a shoutout to several late-night TV hosts for doing a masterful job of "defending democracy."

David Letterman on Tuesday offered a bit of advice to Donald Trump about his attacks on late-night hosts ― without even mentioning the president’s name.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Letterman made a blunt suggestion to leaders “irrespective of party or political ideology.”

“If the leader of the free world is a fool, the leader of the free world then should expect and examine every bit of ridicule he receives,” said Letterman, whose remarks received applause from the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” crowd.

Letterman has sounded off in recent months about the late-night TV shakeups under Trump’s second term. In July, he called it “pure cowardice” for CBS, his former network, to cancel “Late Show” successor Stephen Colbert’s show in 2026 before alluding to parent company Paramount Global’s $16 million settlement with Trump over his frivolous “60 Minutes” lawsuit. The settlement came just before Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media, which required the Trump administration’s approval.

“I think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this are going to be embarrassed because this is gutless,” Letterman said in a video shared to his YouTube channel.