Stephen Colbert had left-wing journalists, hosts on 'The Late Show' more than 200 times
By Joseph Wulfsohn
Published July 24, 2025
"The Late Show" wasn't just a platform for Democrats under Stephen Colbert's tenure, it was also one for left-wing journalists and hosts.
Fox News Digital has counted at least 200 episodes of "The Late Show" that featured members of the liberal media.
The far-left politics of "The Late Show" have been facing scrutiny after CBS announced last week that it was pulling the plug on Colbert's program, which will officially wrap up in May 2026.
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According to IMDB search results, CNN anchor and "60 Minutes" correspondent Anderson Cooper holds the record with 20 formal guest appearances on "The Late Show."
Cooper showed his support for Colbert on Monday in a cameo appearance as part of an audience gag mocking CBS parent company Paramount and President Donald Trump.
Other journalists and hosts who were top "Late Show" guests included CNN anchor Jake Tapper, with 12 appearances, the "Pod Save America" Obama bros with 11, MSNBC's Chris Hayes with 10 and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and "The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg with eight apiece, per IMDB.
Colbert frequently rolled out the red carpet for his CBS colleagues in the news division for cross-promotion. John Dickerson has tallied 19 appearances, Gayle King notched 14, Norah O'Donnell has six, and Margaret Brennan has three. Several times, the CBS hosts made joint appearances, like King with her "CBS Morning" colleagues.
Similarly, John Heilemann and Alex Wagner, prominent MSNBC analysts, both made at least ten appearances, thanks in part to their stints hosting the political docuseries "The Circus" that aired on Showtime, a sister network under the Paramount umbrella.
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The late-night CBS host welcomed liberal journalists from rival broadcast networks like ABC's George Stephanopoulos and Jonathan Karl as well as NBC's Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin and Jacob Soboroff.
Hosts on CNN and MSNBC, which both leaned into anti-Trump politics throughout Colbert's run, were regulars at the Ed Sullivan Theater. "Morning Joe" co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have made four joint appearances, as did Joy Reid before her firing from MSNBC earlier this year. Nicolle Wallace, Jen Psaki and Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC and Christiane Amanpour of CNN International have each made three appearances.
Other CNN and MSNBC stars, past and present, who've joined Colbert over the years include Brian Stelter, Jim Acosta, Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo, Katy Tur, Ari Melber, Kaitlan Collins, Abby Philip, Laura Coates, Van Jones, Donny Deutsch, Audie Cornish, Jim Sciutto and Chris Matthews.
Other notable media figures that have also made "Late Show" appearances over the years include Katie Couric, Bob Costa, Ana Navarro, Maggie Haberman, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Wesley Lowery, Scott Pelley, Lesley Stahl, Ezra Klein, Susan Glasser, April Ryan, Jorge Ramos, John Avlon, Margaret Hoover, Ronan Farrow, Michael Wolff, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
COLBERT'S MANAGER KNEW OF SHOW'S CANCELLATION WEEKS BEFORE HOST, SHOW AXED FOR FINANCIAL REASONS: REPORT
Liberals have been outraged over Colbert's shocking cancellation. Many of them, including Jon Stewart, believe the move was meant to kowtow to Trump and not because of the show's finances as CBS claimed.
But Colbert's show was reportedly losing CBS $40 million a year and that it had been running on a whopping $100 million budget per season.
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While the liberal late-night hosts are struggling, Fox News Channel's "Gutfeld!" averaged 3.1 million viewers through July 20, compared to 1.9 million for CBS' outgoing "Late Show." During that same time period, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" averaged 1.5 million, NBC's "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon" averaged 1.1 million, and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" managed 751,000.
When it comes to the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, "Gutfeld!" averaged 398,000 of the viewers most coveted by advertisers, compared to 288,000 for Colbert. Print Close
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