Some members of the Democratic Party are theorizing that the cancellation of “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert was political in nature, claims which arise amid a Trump settlement with Paramount and a forthcoming merger between the company and Skydance Media.
Colbert recently announced that “The Late Show” would be taken off the air by CBS as of May 2026, prompting outrage among Democratic figureheads and progressive leaders.
The news came shortly before the Federal Communications Commission said they would permit a merger between Paramount and Skydance, which in turn came weeks after Paramount agreed to pay $16 million for President Donald Trump’s future presidential library in a lawsuit settlement, according to a Thursday report from the Daily Beast.
As the left-wing outlet framed the story, “Paramount Merger Approved After $16 Million Trump Pay-Off.”
A statement from FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, fed into their claims of malfeasance.
“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately and fairly,” Carr remarked to The New York Times.
“It is time for a change,” he continued.
“That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network.”
CBS, which is a division of Paramount and the broadcaster of “The Late Show,” was the subject of the lawsuit ending in the $16 million settlement, since “60 Minutes” aired what Trump believed was a deceptively edited interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris during the election cycle.
Carr and Paramount have both said that the lawsuit and the FCC review of the merger were not linked, but Democrats are still skeptical, as made clear by the Daily Beast’s framing of the settlement as a “Pay-Off.”
Democratic lawmakers have been making similar accusations with respect to the settlement ever since Colbert announced the cancellation.
“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,” Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on social media.
“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,” California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff offered.
CNN host Brian Stelter tried to frame the settlement in a broader narrative of purported Trump animus toward the journalism profession.
“CBS News did nothing wrong,” Stelter said on social media.
“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 latest news of the merger between Paramount and Skydance, such theories are likely to receive more oxygen.
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