Sanders, Warren accuse CBS of canceling Colbert's show in appeal to Trump
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CBS is canceling "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" after the next season, the network announced Thursday. Photo: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images
Top lawmakers were quick to rally around Stephen Colbert following the cancellation of "The Late Show."
Why it matters: Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) accused CBS of placating President Trump as its parent company Paramount is closing in on a merger deal.
Driving the news: CBS on Thursday said it was canceling "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" after the next season in May 2026.
- CBS said in a statement the decision was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night" and it's "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."
What they're saying: Sanders and Warren suggested that Colbert's recent criticism of Paramount's settlement with Trump motivated its cancellation of "The Late Show."
- "CBS canceled Colbert's show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery," Warren asserted on X Thursday night, repeating Colbert's accusation.
- "Stephen Colbert, an extraordinary talent and the most popular late night host, slams the deal," Sanders said on X Friday morning. "Days later, he's fired. Do I think this is a coincidence? NO."
- "If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better," Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) also wrote on X Thursday.
State of play: Trump has taken aim at late-night comedians in the past, and he celebrated the show's cancellation on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
- "I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired," Trump wrote. "His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next," he said, with Kimmel being another vocal critic of his.
- In response to an Axios request for comment, the White House referred to Trump's Truth Social post.
Flashback: CBS parent company Paramount Global said earlier this month that it would pay $16 million to settle a voter interference lawsuit filed by Trump last October, even as press freedom advocates warned the company was buckling to political pressure.
- The settlement likely clears the way for Paramount Global to merge with Skydance Media.
- The move was widely criticized by free speech advocates, with Freedom for the Press Foundation filing a shareholder information demand.
Catch up quick: Colbert previously slammed his parent company in a segment following the settlement.
- Colbert called the legal filing a "nuisance lawsuit," which claimed that CBS News deceptively edited an interview with presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
- "Paramount knows they could have fought it," Colbert said, because the company itself called the lawsuit "completely without merit."
Context: CBS said the show has been No. 1 in the late-night slot for nine straight seasons, and called the program "a staple of the nation's zeitgeist."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional comment from Paramount.
