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President Donald Trump has denied claims that he was behind CBS's decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, saying the move had nothing to do with him and everything to do with the show's performance.
"Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night. That is not true," Trump wrote Tuesday on his Truth Social platform. "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!"
The cancellation comes at a time when Paramount, CBS's parent company, is securing an $8 billion merger deal with Skydance. Just days before Colbert's show was dropped, Paramount paid Trump's foundation over $15 million to settle a lawsuit related to a 60 Minutes segment that aired last fall.
Colbert criticized the situation on air before the show was pulled, accusing Paramount of paying Trump "a big fat bribe." That comment added fuel to speculation that political pressure influenced CBS's decision. A press freedom group has since filed an ethics complaint against FCC chairman Brendan Carr, and Democrats in Congress have pledged to investigate the merger and its potential connection to Colbert's removal.
Despite the network's statement calling it "purely a financial decision," the timing has raised suspicions. The Writers Guild of America expressed concern over the cancellation, suggesting that while show cancellations are common in the industry, ending a program under possible political pressure raises serious concerns about fairness and the protection of free expression in a democratic system.
Trump didn't stop at Colbert. In the same post, he took aim at other late-night hosts, writing, "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?"
He added, "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."
Kimmel responded on Instagram, "I know you're busy Sharpie-ing the Epstein files, but this seems like a weird way to tell people to watch Matt Damon and Ken Jennings on an all-new Who Wants to Be a Millionaire tomorrow night at 8|7c on @ABC."
