Jake Tapper Blasts Paramount for Bending the Knee to Trump
The CNN pundit thinks the timing is all too convenient given “The Late Show” host’s firing comes as CBS’ parent company awaits Trump’s green light on a merger.
CNN’s Jake Tapper slammed Paramount for bowing to President Donald Trump with its cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
“Obviously, President Trump has made no secret of his hatred of being mocked—specifically, the jokes that people like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel make at his expense,” Tapper said.
He then took CBS’s parent company, Paramount, to task.
“Paramount is in a bend-the-knee phase,” Tapper went on. “Paramount is attempting to please President Trump as Paramount’s Shari Redstone waits for the Trump administration’s blessing for a lucrative merger with a company called Skydance.”
Stephen Colbert announced his firing this week after 15 years behind desk of The Late Show studio.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
David Ellison, CEO of Skydance, is indeed reported to have met with Trump’s Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, on Saturday to discuss terms for the multi-billion-dollar prospective media deal.
While CBS executives have said canning Colbert’s show “is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” broadcasting, critics have been quick to point out that also it comes hot on the heels of Paramount paying Trump $16 million to settle its lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris—a deal Colbert called a “big, fat bribe.”
CBS' decision to let Colbert go comes after it settled a $16 million lawsuit by the president, and as parent company Paramount seeks his administration's approval on a lucrative new merger.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Described by legal experts as “substantively very weak,” Trump claimed the network deceptively edited the interview to “tip the scales in favour of the Democratic Party” ahead of last year’s election.
“Paramount was determined to settle with the president, and it’s that timing that CBS was no doubt attempting to head off in their announcement of the termination of the Colbert show—which was doing very well in ratings, by the way,” Tapper added.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Unlock a year of full access to The Looker and The Daily Beast for $35.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Looker and The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in
Login dialog