“In the immortal words of Ed O’Neill in Wayne’s World 2: ‘People need to be entertained.’” Unfortunately, today’s late-night comedians have forgotten that simple truth—and few have strayed further from it than Stephen Colbert.

Once given the keys to one of America’s most iconic platforms, Colbert chose not to unite Americans with laughter, but to divide them with political propaganda. And now, after years of lecturing and finger-wagging from behind a studio desk, the inevitable has happened: Colbert has been canceled.

His failure didn’t come from a lack of talent, but from a fatal decision to abandon comedy in favor of Democratic Party talking points. If Colbert had followed the golden rule of the late Johnny Carson—“Don’t get political”—he might still have a show.

Carson, the undisputed king of late night, understood something today’s hosts never will. His goal was simple: make people laugh. Whether you were Republican, Democrat, or somewhere in between, you could count on Carson to deliver a joke—not a lecture.

As Carson said in a 1984 interview with Barbara Walters, “I think one of the dangers if you are a comedian… is that if you start to take yourself too seriously and start to comment on social issues, your sense of humor suffers somewhere.” He added, “The Tonight Show basically is designed to amuse people. To make them laugh.”

Jay Leno echoed that sentiment, saying, “You never knew Johnny’s politics. Johnny would come out and equally make fun of everybody.”

That’s a far cry from what we’ve endured under Colbert’s reign: an endless barrage of smug, leftist sermons directed not just at President Trump, but at half the country—his own audience.

Night after night, Colbert and his fellow hosts—Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers—piled on conservative Americans while fawning over Hollywood elites and radical politicians. Instead of comedy, they delivered state-sponsored monologues echoing the Democratic Party’s latest talking points.

And now, liberals are melting down over Colbert’s cancellation. Some allege it’s retaliation, linking it to CBS’s recent legal settlement with President Donald Trump over the network’s deceptive editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. Others blame “conspiracies” and “revenge.”

But the public knows better.

Colbert lost America because he sold out. He turned a once-beloved platform into a pulpit for far-left ideology, sneering at working-class voters and mocking the values that built this country. He had the opportunity to lift up the nation through laughter—and instead used his influence to tear it apart.

Let’s be honest: it wasn’t funny. It was smug. It was arrogant. It was a ratings disaster.

In the streaming era, where Americans can summon anything on demand, does Colbert even make the top 50 most-watched shows anymore? The top 100?

Johnny Carson once said, “I just let the work speak for itself.” Well, Colbert let his work speak—and America turned the channel.

He could have followed Carson’s lead and become a unifying voice for the nation. Instead, he became a punchline. His lasting legacy? Helping to kill late-night network television and cementing its place as a niche echo chamber for liberal elites.

In truth, he should’ve been canceled years ago. But as the saying goes: Better late than never.