🔥 BREAKING: Karoline Leavitt ERUPTS After Jimmy Kimmel TORCHES Her and Donald Trump LIVE On Air — The On-TV Moment That Left MAGA in SHAMBLES ⚡

For a former president who has long thrived on attention, Donald J. Trump has found himself in an uncomfortable position in recent weeks: the target of sustained ridicule from two cultural figures he cannot easily dismiss or silence. In a series of monologues, public appearances and viral moments, the late-night host Stephen Colbert and the actor Robert De Niro have sharpened their criticism of Mr. Trump, turning entertainment platforms into highly visible stages for political rebuke.

The episodes have underscored how deeply American political conflict has seeped into popular culture, and how figures outside formal politics continue to shape public perceptions of power, legitimacy and character.

Mr. Colbert, whose CBS program has for years been a reliable source of anti-Trump satire, escalated his attacks following reports that Mr. Trump had once sent a birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier later convicted of sex crimes. During a monologue that quickly went viral, Mr. Colbert mocked the former president’s past association with Epstein and portrayed it as emblematic of what he called Mr. Trump’s long pattern of moral evasiveness.

The reaction from the former president was notable largely for its absence. Mr. Trump, who frequently responds to criticism with immediate and caustic posts on social media, did not initially engage. That silence was interpreted by some commentators as a rare moment of restraint; by others, as evidence that the criticism had landed uncomfortably close to home.

Mr. Colbert showed no inclination to ease up. In subsequent broadcasts, he broadened his focus, weaving together satire about Mr. Trump’s legal troubles, his appetite for accolades and his long-running desire for validation from elite institutions. When Mr. Trump was publicly associated with a “peace prize” awarded by an international organization, Mr. Colbert responded by staging a mock ceremony of his own, hoisting a golden statue in his likeness and deriding what he called the inflation of meaningless honors.

The audience’s reaction — chanting Mr. Colbert’s name and sharing clips widely online — reinforced the host’s role not merely as a comedian, but as a symbolic counterweight to Mr. Trump’s celebrity-driven politics.

That contrast was further sharpened earlier this year when Mr. Colbert won an Emmy Award for his program. Returning to the air, he opened with a pointed remark: “Donald Trump doesn’t have one.” The line, trivial on its face, carried a deeper sting. For decades, Mr. Trump has sought recognition from the entertainment industry, notably during his years hosting “The Apprentice,” yet he never received the award that Mr. Colbert now brandished openly.

If Mr. Colbert has used humor as his primary weapon, Mr. De Niro has taken a more direct and severe approach. At public events and award ceremonies, including a high-profile appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, the actor has delivered blunt denunciations of Mr. Trump, questioning his fitness for leadership and portraying him as a danger to democratic norms.

Mr. De Niro’s criticisms are hardly new. He has been an outspoken opponent of Mr. Trump since the 2016 campaign. But the timing and visibility of his recent remarks — amplified by international audiences and prominent venues — have given them renewed force. In contrast to Mr. Trump’s frequent dismissals of journalists or political rivals as “losers,” dismissing Mr. De Niro carries greater risk. The actor’s stature, both in Hollywood and abroad, complicates efforts to reduce his criticism to partisan noise.

Together, Mr. Colbert and Mr. De Niro represent a broader phenomenon: the persistence of cultural opposition to Mr. Trump long after his departure from the White House. While polls suggest a polarized electorate and a nation divided over his legacy, figures in entertainment continue to shape the emotional and symbolic terrain of that debate, often reaching audiences untouched by traditional political messaging.

For Mr. Trump, the challenge is not simply that he is being criticized — he has built much of his career on surviving, and even thriving on, controversy — but that these critiques strike at areas he values deeply: reputation, status and public admiration. Awards, ratings and applause matter to him, and his critics have learned how to weaponize those currencies.

The clash also raises questions about the evolving role of late-night television and celebrity activism. Once dismissed as peripheral, these platforms increasingly function as alternative arenas for political discourse, blending satire with moral judgment in ways that resonate powerfully with viewers.

Whether such moments meaningfully influence electoral outcomes is difficult to measure. But they do shape narratives, reinforce identities and keep certain criticisms alive in the public imagination. For now, as Mr. Trump prepares for another campaign cycle, he finds himself haunted not only by prosecutors and opponents, but by comedians and actors — figures who, from the safety of a stage or a studio, continue to challenge his self-crafted image with laughter, trophies and unrelenting scorn.