Trump escalates attacks on CBS Hosts, from Colbert to Gayle King
President Donald Trump is after CBS hosts, from late night to morning show presenters
President Donald Trump is intensifying the CBS TV show hunt, which started with the cancellation of Stephen Colbert and has now turned towards CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King.
The high-profile Trump vs. CBS hosts feud began in mid-July, when Colbert announced the cancellation of his show.
The Emmy-winner said CBS is cancelling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert next May, the decades-old late-night show that has prominently criticised President Trump.
Three days before the cancellation news, CBS parent company Paramount Global reached a settlement with Trump over a 60 Minutes story.
The timing of the cancellation following the $16 million settlement was not believed to be a coincidence. Multiple outlets and TV presenters voiced that Colbert’s cancellation had Trump’s hand behind it.
However, on July 29, Trump denied responsibility for Colbert’s cancellation in a post on Truth Social.
He claimed the reason Colbert was cancelled was due to “$50 Million Dollars a year” in losses and a “pure lack of TALENT.”
Other late-night presenters showed solidarity with Colbert, and warned that Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon might be next — echoing Trump’s own claims that other hosts “lacked talent.”
On August 5, 2025, Trump attacked CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King on Truth Social, reposting a New York Post article alleging her career was unstable amid low ratings and claims of “woke” programming.
He wrote: “Gayle King’s career is over... No talent, no ratings, no strength!!!”
While the Trump vs. TV presenter drama remains naturally enticing to news readers, his media strategy appears to be reshaping the role of journalism itself.
Amid the drama, the president is turning credible media into political enemies, undermining the very infrastructure of free speech and accountability.
But the question here is: Will Trump’s tactics push the U.S. closer to the dynamics of authoritarian media control?
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