The Late Show with Stephen Colbert started out on Thursday with the host making the bombshell announcement that CBS was canceling the show, effective next May.
That wasn’t addressed in his interview with Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), even though the Trump nemesis did address the president’s success in creating what he called a “climate of fear.”
“He wants to make the law firms afraid,” Schiff told Colbert. “He wants to make universities afraid. He wants to make immigrants afraid. he wants to make citizens afraid. He wants to make news organizations, CBS and Paramount afraid. He wants to make ABC afraid. And he is succeeding.”
Later, Schiff did address CBS’ decision to cancel Late Show, writing on X, “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.”
CBS said that the show was being canceled for financial reasons. But very soon after the announcement, there were quickly suspicions that it could have been connected to parent Paramount Global‘s pending merger with Skydance. The transaction needs regulatory approval from the Trump administration, and Colbert’s humor is frequently directed at the president.
Already, a number of Democrats on Capitol Hill have criticized Paramount Global for reaching a settlement with Trump over his 60 Minutes lawsuit against CBS for $16 million. Colbert joined them earlier this week, riffing in a monologue earlier this week on what he called Paramout’s “big fat bribe” to the president.
Following Colbert’s announcement that his show was getting the ax, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) linked to the host’s earlier monologue and wrote on X, “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. America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) posted a similar note.
In the Colbert interview, Schiff also criticized the package of spending cuts — known as rescissions — as a sign that congressional Republicans were giving up their power to Trump. The final passage of the package, which rolls back funding for foreign aid and NPR, just as the interview was airing.
“They’re worried about losing their own personal power, that is their own personal office
“Some of them have said they’re worried about their own personal safety,” Colbert said.
“That too, that too,” Schiff said.
“You can’t find a member of the House or Senate that hasn’t gotten death threats,” Schiff said. You probably can’t find many that haven’t gotten death threats against their spouses, against their children.”
Schiff said that those threats have greatly accelerated under Trump, but he suggested a way to respond.
“This is all part of a deliberate campaign to frighten people into submission,” Schiff said. “And the only way to pish back on that is to say, ‘Piss off. Piss off.’”
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