President Donald Trump slammed Howard Stern, saying that the shock jock's SiriusXM show "went down" after endorsing former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Trump made his remarks in response to rumors that Stern was parting ways with SiriusXM. And while the news could not be verified as of Thursday morning, it has not stopped the media from speculating.
A reporter raised the topic during a discussion with Trump, saying, "Howard Stern announced that he and SiriusXM Radio are parting ways. Do you think that the hate Trump business model that has been in the business is going out of business because it's not popular with the American people?" according to Deadline.
Trump pointed out that the concept "hasn't worked for a long time."
"Colbert has no talent. I mean, I could take anybody here; I could go outside on the beautiful streets and pick a couple of people that would do just as well or better," he said. "They got higher ratings than he did. He's got no talent. Fallon has no talent. Kimmel has no talent. They're next. They're going to be going. I hear they are going to be going. I don't know, but I would imagine, because Colbert has better ratings than Kimmel or Fallon."
Trump then took aim at Stern.
"You know when he went down? When he endorsed Hillary Clinton, he lost his audience. People said, 'Give me a break.' He went down when he endorsed Hillary Clinton," he said.
Reports surfaced earlier this week that Stern's $500 million five-year contract would not be renewed. The Sun, citing sources, reported that the 71-year-old would be open to a short-term contract for the right price but was also considering departing SiriusXM. A report by the Daily Mail echoed The Sun's claims.
"He may do a one- to two-year contract if they can meet him where he wants financially. He doesn't want to pull the plug on his employees like this," one source told the outlet.
"He is off in the summer but this year has been saying, 'Maybe I should retire,'" another source said.
Another source said Stern is even thinking about "parting ways" with SiriusXM.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.