Did Trump engineer Stephen Colbert’s cancellation?

The CBS network recently announced the end of the popular U.S. TV show The Late Show, initially starring David Letterman and now helmed by Stephen Colbert, who was readily critical of U.S. President Donald Trump. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end in May 2026. “This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” said George Cheeks, chairman of CBS and co-CEO of Paramount, CBS’s parent company, in a press release.

This announcement comes two weeks after Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to U.S. President Donald Trump. The concession stems from Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, accusing the network of misleadingly altering an interview aired on his “60 Minutes” show with Kamala Harris.

This is the latest concession by a major media company in the face of the Republican president’s forward attacks. The deal coincides with Paramount’s quest to receive Trump administration approval for a proposed merger with production company Skydance.

Stephen Colbert, who has hosted the show for 10 years, will not be replaced: “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late-night television,” CBS said in the release.

Stephen Colbert, a leading critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, actually reacted to the lawsuit settlement during his show’s opening monologue. He said he was “offended” by the settlement, days before being canceled.

Colbert also described the settlement as “a big fat bribe”.

The comedian and host thanked CBS and the team of more than 200 people for their long-standing commitment to the show.

“We get to do this show — we get to do this show for each other every day, all day, and I’ve had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years. And let me tell you, it is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it,” lamented Colbert.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had solid ratings. In fact, according to the most recent Nielsen polls, the show averaged 2.41 million viewers for its 41 new episodes. Nielsen also reported that it was the only late-night show to have attracted more viewers since the start of the season.

This week, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was nominated for its sixth Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Talk Show category. So, the question arises: what is the real reason for this cancellation? And more importantly, did Donald Trump engineer Stephen Colbert’s cancellation on the heels of his deal with CBS, after years of direct attacks from the host?