Stephen Colbert used his late-night platform to fire a sharp shot at his own network, reminding CBS executives of their multimillion-dollar payout to President Donald Trump while lampooning the presidents latest diplomatic venture.
The CBS Late Show host was dissecting Trumps newly announced Board of Peace for Gaza when he abruptly shifted from ridiculing the proposal to skewering his corporate bosses, according to Mediaite. Trump, who has long argued that peace is best secured through strength and hard bargaining rather than endless bureaucracy, has framed the initiative as a bold, transactional approach to global stability a stark contrast to the costly, process-heavy diplomacy favored by many in the foreign policy establishment.
Colbert opened his monologue by declaring, Trumps next mission in Davos was debuting a new international club that he calls the Board of Peace, where nations can pay $1 billion for a permanent seat. No surprise that peace has a price. He then speculated about where the money would actually go, adding, Right now, its unclear where the funds collected from the Board of Peace members would be held. My guess is Trumps personal piggy bank, the Canklebankle. According to the charter, the board will have one man in charge, before delivering the punchline: And Ill give you a hint. Hes in the diaper.
After deriding the initiative as Trump literally just doing model UN, Colbert abruptly turned his fire on CBS itself. Now, admittedly, the idea of paying a billion dollars to obey Donald Trump seems a little steep, after all, CBS got to do it for just $16 million, he joked, drawing loud laughter from the studio audience.
Colbert did not elaborate, but viewers familiar with recent media controversies understood the reference to a July settlement in which CBSs parent company, Paramount, paid $16 million over the editing of an interview with Kamala Harris. The payout landed as Paramount was seeking Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval for a high-stakes merger with Skydance, underscoring how powerful federal regulators can become leverage points in political and corporate battles.
Soon after the settlement, CBS abruptly announced it was canceling Colberts show on July 18, insisting the decision was driven by financial considerations, even as Trump had been publicly calling for Colberts ouster for months. The FCC ultimately approved the ParamountSkydance merger on July 24, leaving lingering questions about how much political pressure, regulatory power, and corporate risk management now shape what Americans are allowed to see on their television screens.
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