Rush Limbaugh wasted no time Thursday responding to the news that Stephen Colbert would replace David Letterman on CBS’ “The Late Show,” and the conservative talk radio host not happy about the choice.
In fact, Limbaugh said, he thinks the network has “declared war on the heartland of America” by hiring Colbert, whose Comedy Central show “The Colbert Report” regularly spoofs the conservative movement that Limbaugh has spearheaded.
Also read: Stephen Colbert Clarifies: ‘I Won’t Do ‘Late Show’ in Character’
“You really care what I think about that?” Limbaugh said on Thursday’s edition of “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” when the topic was broached. “Well, I’ll give you the short version: CBS has just declared war on the heartland of America.”
Limbaugh went on to suggest that the late-night landscape — and in fact comedy as a whole — will now launch a full-scale attack on “traditional American values.”
Also read: Why Stephen Colbert Is the Perfect Choice for CBS
“No longer is comedy going to be a covert assault on traditional American values … now it’s just wide out in the open,” Limbaugh warned. “What this hire means is a redefinition of what is funny, and a redefinition of what is comedy. They’re blowing up the 11:30 format under the guise that the world’s changing, and people don’t want the kind of comedy that Carson gave us, or even Letterman. It’s media planting a flag here … it’s a declaration.”
Colbert was announced as Letterman’s replacement on Thursday, after Letterman revealed last week that he planned to retire sometime in 2015.
Also read: 4 Roles That Prove Stephen Colbert Has the Range to Be a Hit on ‘Late Show’
Colbert has said that he won’t be doing “The Late Show” in character as a clueless conservative pundit, the guise he employs on “The Colbert Report.”
Listen to Limbaugh bash CBS here.