The news that CBS is ending the decade- old ‘Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ thrilled President Trump, he said Friday morning. “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. “His talent was even less than his ratings.”
What was Trump’s post on Stephen Colbert?
The president also wrote about Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld, whose talk show “Gutfeld!” airs an hour before the major late-night shows, and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel.“I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” Trump wrote. “Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”
The company’s decision has drawn criticism given that Colbert publicly criticised CBS parent company Paramount Global for settling a $16 million lawsuit with Trump. During a taping, Colbert informed his audience that he was only informed of the decision the previous evening. He continued by harshly denouncing the Paramount settlement as a “big fat bribe.” “Okay, okay, but how are they going to put pressure on Stephen Colbert… if they can’t find him?” he joked, adding that his new moustache would help him avoid detection by the company. The studio audience responded with astonishment and disillusionment.
Since 2015, when he succeeded veteran host David Letterman, the comedian has been in charge of “The Late Show.” With an average of almost 2.5 million viewers in the second quarter of this year, the show is the most popular talk show at the 11:35 p.m. timeslot. During the same period, Gutfeld’s show, which airs an hour earlier and is not a direct rival to CBS’s program, averaged about 3.3 million viewers per show. For years, the president was friendly with Gutfeld, the conservative host.
What is the reason behind cancelling ‘The Late Show?’
According to CBS, the decision was made due to financial difficulties in the late-night television industry. They disclosed that it was unrelated to the show’s success, its content, or other Paramount happenings. CNN reports that 3.5% of Paramount’s employees were recently let go. The company is also in talks to merge with Skydance Media. The network may have made cost reductions, including cancelling Colbert’s show, as a result of these financial difficulties.