Jimmy Fallon Stephen Colbert
Jimmy Fallon Stephen Colbert

They were fierce rivals – until President Trump turned them into allies.

Three of late-night’s most durable hosts took part in a rare collaboration after President Donald Trump hurled a few verbal zingers at the wee-hours crowd at a rally Monday night in South Carolina. , and Conan O’Brien joined together in a sketch that — in what may be a first — was slated to serve as the “cold open” to both Tuesday night’s broadcast of “The Late Show” on CBS and”The Tonight Show” on NBC. O’Brien’s “Conan,” broadcast on TBS, is on hiatus this week.

In the bit, Colbert is spotted typing up a monologue at his computer, only to be interrupted by a video call from Fallon. “Hey, lowlife,” says Fallon. “Hey, lost soul,” replies Colbert. Both comics were referring to some of the epithets Trump used to insult them as well as their ABC rival, Jimmy Kimmel.

After the pair hash out all the different names Trump used, they decide to call O’Brien. They find him shaving, and surprised to learn Trump inhabits the Oval Office. He urges them to be civil Fallon and Colbert decide to go out to lunch at the Red Hen, the Virginia restaurant that recently asked White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave.

The sketch shows just how much late-night has changed since Trump became President in 2017. Many of the hosts – Colbert, Kimmel, Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah – have found ratings and audience growth…