Robert De Niro made a joke at the expense of US President Donald Trump during his last appearance on Stephen Colbert’s talk show, referencing the unreleased files relating to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The Raging Bull actor appeared on the Late Night legend’s penultimate episode yesterday (20 May). The long-running talk show’s final week has featured guests such as David Byrne, Jon Stewart and Steven Spielberg.
During the chat, De Niro swapped places with Colbert, and asked him “What number were you thinking of?”, in reference to a question the host asked many guests over the years.
“There’s a hint as to what the answer is,” Colbert replied, “because whenever somebody answers the question and gives the wrong answer, I always say no; and when I give the right answer, which has happened at least twice — Meryl Streep and Ethan Hawke guessed correctly — and Ethan Hawke goes immediately, ‘I know what it is. It’s three.’ That’s the number I was thinking of.”
Finally: Stephen Colbert reveals the number he was thinking of. pic.twitter.com/qnHwW4CxEx
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) May 21, 2026
“OK,” De Niro said. “Because I thought it would have been two million point five, or two and a half million. That’s the number of Epstein files Trump still hasn’t released.” The punchline drew rapturous applause from the studio audience.
The legendary actor has been a passionate critic of the US President, with the pair exchanging barbs many times over the years. In February, De Niro appeared emotional on television as he urged people to “resist” the Trump Administration. “The story is our country, and Trump is destroying it, and who knows what his reasons are, but it’s sick, it’s fucked up,” he told MS NOW. “We have to save this country.”
The same month, Donald Trump called Robert De Niro’s criticism of him “criminal”, and implied that he should be deported. He described the star as a “sick and demented person with, I believe, an extremely Low IQ”.
Bruce Springsteen also made a jab directed at Trump while performing on Colbert’s show, implying the President “can’t take a joke”.