The late-night talk show host joked that the attack gave a clue about the Epstein files.

The Late Show host Stephen Colbert explains the situation in Venezuela: ‘2026 started with a bang — and a boom’

The late-night talk show host joked that the attack gave a clue about the Epstein files.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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January 5, 2026 10:49 p.m. ET

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Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert'. Credit:

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

*The Late Show* host Stephen Colbert is right back to his jokes about politics and, of course, the Trump administration following the series' holiday break.

"2026 started with a bang — and a boom," Colbert says in an Instagram sneak peek at his Monday monologue, "because on the night of Jan. 2, before Anderson and Andy really had time to sober up, this happened."

The show then cut to news reports that President Donald Trump had launched a surprise attack on Venezuela and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

"Do you know what this means?" Colbert said. "Those Epstein files must be *crazy*."**

The comedian then pretended to be a desperate politician, flipping through documents in the case of late financier who died in prison in August 2019 while waiting to be tried on charges of sex trafficking. Epstein has been tied to politicians, including Trump, and most Americans want the files related to the case released, according to PBS.

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"Bomb something!" Colbert said, feigning panic. "Bomb anything!"

Colbert and his fellow late-night TV hosts are returning from holiday break with a relish and have not let up on the government, continuing to make fun of the current administration, even as Trump has repeatedly threatened to have them fired.

On Sunday, at the annual Critics Choice Awards, Colbert's late-night colleague and fellow Trump agitator Jimmy Kimmel made the audience laugh as he accepted the award for Best Talk Show.

"Most of all, I want to thank our President, Donald 'Jennifer' Trump," Kimmel said, "without whom we would be going home empty-handed tonight."

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He continued, "Thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day. It's been a banner couple of weeks, and we can't wait to get back on the air tomorrow night to talk about them. Thank you, everyone."

While Kimmel has certainly been a target of Trump's, Colbert is widely seen as the first casualty in the president's war on late-night comedians.

Trump cheered the news that *The Late Show *will end after its current season, when it was announced in July.

'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' is in its last few months.

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

As recently as Dec. 23, the nation's leader referred to Colbert as "a pathetic trainwreck with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success."

He suggested that, in his last few months on his current show, Colbert had "actually gotten worse."

Colbert, Trump said, was "running on hatred and fumes. A dead man walking! CBS should 'put him to sleep' NOW. It is the humanitarian thing to do!"

The *Late Show With Stephen Colbert* airs at 11: 35 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.**

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