In a statement on Thursday, the network said the late-night talk show was being canceled for financial reasons. Those reasons are associated with Paramount's proposed merger with Skydance Media, which requires Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval under the Trump administration. Paramount is the parent company of CBS.

Stephen Colbert had a succinct message to President Trump, one that involved an anatomical impossibility. In his monologue opening Monday’s “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” Colbert referred to Trump’s celebrating CBS’s sudden decision to axe the show.