Some Democrats are raising alarms over what they claim is a politically motivated cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, pointing to a recent $16 million settlement between Paramount and President Donald Trump and the green-lighting of a Paramount-Skydance merger by the FCC.
Colbert revealed that CBS will pull The Late Show off the air in May 2026, triggering backlash from prominent Democrats and progressive voices who suggest the move may be more than just a network decision.
The announcement came just days before the Federal Communications Commission approved a major merger between Paramount and Skydance Media — a decision that followed closely on the heels of Paramount agreeing to fund Trump’s future presidential library with a $16 million payment to settle a lawsuit involving the network’s 60 Minutes program. Trump had claimed the show misrepresented a 2024 interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Left-leaning outlets, including The Daily Beast, cast the sequence of events in a dark light, running headlines such as: “Paramount Merger Approved After $16 Million Trump Pay-Off.”
Fueling these suspicions was a statement from FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, who told The New York Times:
“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately and fairly. It is time for a change. That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network.”
Although both Carr and Paramount deny any connection between the lawsuit settlement and the FCC’s merger approval, Democratic figures remain unconvinced.
Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on social media:
“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.”
California Senator Adam Schiff echoed the concern:
“Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled. If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.”
CNN’s Brian Stelter framed the issue as another chapter in what he sees as Trump’s ongoing vendetta against the media:
“CBS News did nothing wrong. But its parent company still paid the price. That’s the moral of the Paramount settlement story. And it’s a story that keeps repeating itself in the Trump era.”
With the merger now finalized and Colbert’s show facing the axe, speculation about behind-the-scenes political pressure is only gaining steam.