Weeks after CBS announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” Donald Trump has ideas for the next program to axe.
Responding to a New York Post article claiming Gayle King’s “CBS Mornings” faces an uncertain future amid parent company Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media, the president claimed the news host had “no talent.”
King, 70, has been with CBS for over a decade, after leaving longtime friend Oprah’s OWN network.
“Gayle King’s career is over. She should have stayed with her belief in TRUMP,” he wrote in a post to Truth Social. “She never had the courage to do so. No talent, no ratings, no strength!!!”
The president’s comments follow a major win for his administration. In late July, Paramount settled a lawsuit with Trump over a claim of deceptive editing he brought following a “60 Minutes” interview with his then-political rival Kamala Harris. In the settlement, the entertainment giant agreed to pay $16 million toward Trump’s future presidential library.
The settlement came as Paramount eagerly awaited a green light on an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media, which required approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The merger has since been approved, a move some critics characterized as a quid pro quo.
Now the president, seemingly emboldened by the settlement, is taking aim at one of CBS’s most storied journalists. King is a staple on morning television, bringing both hard news acumen and a light-hearted flair to the day’s first headlines.
Rumors of a new vein of news judgment post-merger have also begun to swirl following the cancellation of Colbert’s show, where the host frequently critiques Trump. While Paramount said the decision to pull the plug on the “Late Show” was purely financial, voices from in and outside the industry argued it was a sign of political acquiescence as the White House cracks down on dissenting voices.
