On July 17, CBS stunned audiences by announcing the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, bringing the long-running late-night show to an end after 33 years. The news has sent shockwaves through the industry, with the vast majority of reactions blasting CBS for the move; however, there is one particular individual who is thrilled by Colbert's firing: President Donald Trump.
In a move everyone likely saw coming, Trump is reveling in CBS's decision to give Stephen Colbert the boot and has celebrated the network's decision to end the show of his long-time critic.
“I absolutely love that Colbert got fired," Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 18. "His talent was even less than his ratings."
Trump didn't stop there, though, because of course he didn't. After celebrating the firing of Colbert and the end of The Late Show, Trump proceeded to claim that Jimmy Kimmel Live's Jimmy Kimmel is on his way out next and then took a cheap shot at The Tonight Show's Jimmy Fallon.
"I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! [Fox News host] Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show," Trump wrote.
Needless to say, Trump isn't a fan of late-night and the hosts behind the hit shows who frequently call out Trump’s actions in their monologues. He has a long-standing history of calling the hosts out on social media, so it's not surprising that he's thrilled with CBS's decision to drop Colbert. What’s troubling are the optics of The Late Show's cancellation.
In a statement announcing the show's end, CBS noted that the decision was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount." However, the cancellation comes on the heels of Colbert publicly calling out CBS and Paramount for paying out $16 million to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against the company.
"I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It's 'big fat bribe' because it all comes as Paramount's owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance," Colbert stated in a monologue that aired just three days before CBS chose to cancel the show.
The timing has raised eyebrows among many who question whether CBS is hiding behind the excuse that the cancellation is purely financial.
CBS has indeed canceled many shows due to the changing landscape of TV, but the timing of this cancellation seems like a direct retaliation for Colbert calling out the company for the settlement. If the network wanted to end the show, one has to imagine the decision would have been better made a bit removed from Colbert's monologue addressing the Trump settlement.
We understand that the world of TV is fast-moving, but The Late Show won't be ending until May 2026 so it stands to reason CBS could have held off on formally announcing this decision. It's just not a good look for the network, despite what a certain world leader thinks.
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