Bruce Backs Colbert, Mocks Trump and the Ellisons

Oh, Springsteen also sang a song. Plus: our usual cartoons and more.

May 21, 2026

Yes, it’s still free to subscribe to this nearly daily newsletter! Greg Mitchell is the author of fourteen books and director of five films for PBS since 2022. In a previous life, he was a longtime editor at the legendary Crawdaddy.

Colbert’s next to last show kicked off with the usual monologue….Tonight is the finale and CBS bad guys are giving him a few extra minutes. Kimmel and Fallon only airing re-runs in support.

As scheduled, Springsteen in middle of tour still stopped by to sing “City of Minneapolis,” after saying:

I am here in support tonight for Stephen, because you are the first guy in America who lost his show because we got a president who can’t take a joke. And because Larry and David Ellison feel they need to kiss his ass to get what they want. Stephen, these are small-minded people. They got no idea what the freedoms of this beautiful country are supposed to be about.

Clay Bennett commentary:

From Variety:

For his penultimate episode of “The Late Show,” Colbert brought out a smorgasbord of celebrity friends, ranging from Aubrey Plaza to Martha Stewart. All his guests served as hosts, asking Colbert — who sat on the guest sofa — a fairly random question, e.g., “What is your favourite action movie?”
Then came Robert De Niro’s turn. The Oscar-winning acting legend — and certified Trump hater — came on and asked, “What number were you thinking of?”
And then De Niro threw a curveball aimed squarely at his favorite target.
“OK,” he replied. “Because I thought it would have been two million point five, or two and a half million. That’s the number of Epstein files Trump still hasn’t released.”

Glad someone is calling for Trump impeachment. Should be national roar and top of web sites. Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA):

Trump’s “weaponization fund” and ban on future IRS audits is his latest impeachable offense: using the machinery of government and billions in taxpayer dollars to reward allies, pay off insurrectionists, and shield himself, his family, and associates from accountability. This is exactly the kind of corruption and abuse of public trust the Framers feared most. Impeach now.

With funding for Trump’s ballroom newly imperiled, The Washington Post reports: “The Trump administration does not plan to seek approval from Congress for President Trump’s planned 250-foot arch, arguing that they do not need it because lawmakers a century ago authorized a somewhat similar project that was never built.”