Topline
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he received CBS owner Paramount’s $16 million settlement in his lawsuit over “60 Minutes”—and suggested he could receive an unspecified additional $20 million from future owners Skydance Media—boasting about the payout as CBS faces criticism over that settlement and its decision to cancel “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”
Now-President Donald Trump appears with Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' on ... More
Trump said on Truth Social he “just achieved a BIG AND IMPORTANT WIN in our Historic Lawsuit against 60 Minutes,” confirming Paramount paid its previously announced $16 million settlement.
Trump sued Paramount over “60 Minutes” and its interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election, as Trump alleged CBS deceptively edited the interview to boost Harris, and the president announced earlier in July that the parties had reached a multimillion-dollar settlement.
Most legal experts said Trump’s suit against CBS had little merit, but it was seen as a way for CBS to help secure approval from Trump’s FCC for CBS’ owner Paramount’s planned merger with Skydance Media.
The president suggested there could also be more money coming his way from Paramount after the company completes its planned merger with Skydance Media, saying Tuesday he “anticipate[s] receiving $20 Million Dollars more from the new Owners.”
Trump said the $20 million would be “in Advertising, PSAs, or similar Programming,” and while it’s unclear if that additional $20 million payment would be part of the original settlement, the president’s statement follows reports that Paramount could compensate Trump through advertisements “in support of conservative causes,” which had been valued at a lower $16 million.
CBS has not yet responded to a request for comment, but Paramount previously denied reports that the company could compensate Trump via advertising, telling The Washington Post it “has no knowledge of any promises or commitments made to President Trump.”
Trump’s post comes days after CBS abruptly announced it was canceling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” the network’s flagship late-night program that’s been on the air for more than three decades, first with original host David Letterman and then Colbert. CBS has publicly stated the decision was made for purely financial reasons, with reports suggesting the program was losing $40 million to $50 million annually, but the timing of the announcement has raised widespread speculation, given Colbert’s frequent criticism of Trump. The announcement also came days after Colbert publicly railed against the network’s settlement with the president, describing the $16 million settlement as a “big fat bribe.” “I don’t know if anything, anything will repair my trust in this company,” Colbert said last week on his show. “But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.” The Writers Guild of America, which represents the show’s writers, has called for an investigation into the reasons behind the show’s cancellation.
“Are we still supposed to believe that canceling Colbert's show on CBS was ‘purely a financial decision’?” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote on X on Tuesday in response to Trump’s Truth Social post, asking Skydance if Trump’s claim about receiving an extra $20 million is true. “This reeks of corruption.”
Trump has long railed against the mainstream media, which he has decried as “fake news,” but the CBS settlement is part of a broader recent trend of news outlets and other major organizations reaching deals with the president rather than fighting his legal complaints in court. ABC News also garnered scrutiny for reaching a $15 million settlement with Trump in a lawsuit over comments made by host George Stephanopoulos, while multiple legal firms have made deals with the Trump administration in order to avoid executive orders targeting them. The $16 million CBS settlement and other payouts are being directed toward Trump’s presidential library, which a CBS’ own analysis found has already received approximately $63 million in funding through settlements with Paramount, ABC News, Meta and X.