Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) mocked TV host Stephen Colbert and former President Barack Obama on Wednesday for “fawning all over each other” in the duo’s interview this week.
“I also got a kick out of Mr. Colbert. He and President Obama are obviously best buds. Maybe they ought to get a motel room or something. They were just fawning all over each other,” Kennedy said.
The Louisiana senator made the comments in a Fox News interview on Wednesday, in which he discussed Colbert’s show, which will sunset with his final interview on May 21. Colbert and Obama covered several topics, from presidential powers to aliens, in the friendly sit-down.
“I don’t have anything against Mr. Colbert. I’ve always thought that he was shallow as a puddle. Now, he doesn’t believe that. He thinks he’s one of the smartest people on the planet,” Kennedy said.
“But his problem is not his vanity or his intelligence. It’s his numbers. He was losing CBS $40 million a year because nobody was watching,” Kennedy continued.
In July 2025, CBS announced it would be canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, citing financial reasons.
“This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount,” CBS said in a statement.
Colbert, a frequent critic of the Trump administration who has sparred with President Donald Trump on multiple occasions, asked Obama about the limits of the presidency in the Tuesday night interview. The two did not discuss Trump by name during their discussion.
“Now that you’re no longer in office, what powers do you believe the president should not have?” Colbert asked Obama.
“Well, there are a couple that I followed even though they weren’t law,” Obama answered. “And … we’re going to have to do some work to return to this norm, and we probably now have to codify it. The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever the president wants prosecuted.”
“The idea is the attorney general is the people’s lawyer. It’s not the president’s consigliere,” Obama continued.
The two also joked about Colbert calling Obama by his first name after the former president insisted Colbert do so. Colbert said he would “give it a run.”
“It’s wonderful to see you again, Bara—,” Colbert said with a pause halfway through his first name.
