XPost: rec.arts.tv, alt.tv.talkshows.late   
   From: nobody@nowhere.com   
      
   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.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)