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David Letterman<\/a> on Tuesday offered a bit of advice to Donald Trump<\/a> about his attacks on late-night hosts \u2015 without even mentioning the president\u2019s name.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel<\/a>\u2019s show, Letterman made a blunt suggestion to leaders \u201cirrespective of party or political ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIf the leader of the free world is a fool, the leader of the free world then should expect and examine every bit of ridicule he receives,\u201d said Letterman, whose remarks received applause from the \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d crowd.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Letterman has sounded off in recent months about the late-night TV shakeups under Trump\u2019s second term. In July, he called it \u201cpure cowardice<\/a>\u201d for CBS, his former network, to cancel \u201cLate Show\u201d successor Stephen Colbert\u2019s show in 2026 before alluding to parent company Paramount Global\u2019s $16 million settlement with Trump over his frivolous \u201c60 Minutes\u201d lawsuit. The settlement came just before Paramount\u2019s merger with Skydance Media, which required the Trump administration\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this are going to be embarrassed because this is gutless,\u201d Letterman said in a video <\/a>shared to his YouTube channel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He\u2019s also gone to bat for Seth Meyers<\/a> and Kimmel, mocking<\/a> the president and his Federal Communications Commission chair for yanking the latter host off the air last September.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Letterman, who Trump has also attacked<\/a> on his Truth Social<\/a> platform, described Kimmel as the \u201cleader of the resistance\u201d on Tuesday and joked that the interview may not even make the air.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He also praised Kimmel\u2019s recent contract extension<\/a> with ABC through May 2027.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAnother year of twisting those folks at Disney? Good for you!\u201d Letterman said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kimmel asked Letterman if he ever wished he could still talk about current affairs on late-night TV.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cBoy, you would think, but no. I\u2019m so glad to be out from under this mess because people like you and people like Stephen [Colbert] and people like Seth [Meyers] do such a masterful job of this, defending democracy,\u201d Letterman said. \u201c…Thank God for you, thank God for others, \u2018SNL<\/a>\u2019 and everybody else. It\u2019s just \u2014 I think it\u2019s the way things need to be in a democracy that\u2019s seemingly this crippled.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n