Trump Says He Actually Wasn’t Responsible for CBS Canceling Stephen Colbert, Despite Hoping He Was
Donald Trump is walking back week-old claims that he hoped he “played a major part” in CBS’ cancellation of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” instead arguing Tuesday that the suggestion he was responsible “is not true!”
On Tuesday, the president took to his Truth Social account to clear up what had been said — in part from his own social media accounts — about how involved he was in CBS’ decision to end “The Late Show” in May 2026 as the network settled his “60 Minutes” lawsuit for $16 million and its parent company Paramount sought to close its merger deal with Skydance.
“Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night,” Trump wrote. “That is not true! The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE!”
He continued: “Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel, and then, a weak, and very insecure, Jimmy Fallon. The only real question is, who will go first? Show Biz and Television is a very simple business. If you get Ratings, you can say or do anything. If you don’t, you always become a victim. Colbert became a victim to himself, the other two will follow.”
CBS explained the choice to cancel the long-running late night program was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop” and had nothing to do with Colbert’s frequent criticism of the president — or his network’s lawsuit settlement with him. The host’s fans wondered loudly how truthful that was as news of “The Late Show” ending came days after Colbert derided Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump, calling it a “big fat bribe” to ensure the FCC’s approval of the company’s merger with Skydance.
Trump added fuel to that fire himself last week when an initial Truth Social post said he hoped he played “a major part in it.”
“The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes, and, shortly thereafter, Fallon will be gone,” Trump wrote July 22. “These are people with absolutely NO TALENT, who were paid Millions of Dollars for, in all cases, destroying what used to be GREAT Television. It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!”
The post Trump Says He Actually Wasn’t Responsible for CBS Canceling Stephen Colbert, Despite Hoping He Was appeared first on TheWrap.
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