Poll: Americans think Paramount is cancelling 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' because of politics — and they don't approve
More Americans disapprove (40%) than approve (33%) of Paramount's controversial decision earlier this month to cancel CBS's long-running late-night program with host Stephen Colbert, according to a new Yahoo/YouGov poll.
And while CBS has claimed the decision was 'purely … financial' — adding that it was 'not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount' — more Americans believe that politics rather than money was the real reason behind it.
The survey of 1,729 U.S. adults was conducted in the immediate aftermath of Paramount's Late Show announcement, from July 24 to July 28 — a period that coincided with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finally agreeing to sign off on the company's proposed $8 billion mega-merger with the Hollywood studio Skydance.
Colbert is a sharp critic of President Trump, and skeptics have accused Paramount of cancelling the Late Show not because late-night talk shows are losing money but because the company wanted to appease the Trump administration and get its Skydance deal over the line.
Last October, Trump sued Paramount for the way CBS's 60 Minutes program edited an interview with his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris — and earlier this month, Paramount decided to settle with Trump and pay $16 million to his future presidential library, even though several legal experts said the case was frivolous.
Colbert — who is scheduled to keep hosting the Late Show until it goes dark next May — mocked the settlement on-air, calling it a 'big fat bribe.'
'As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I'm offended, and I don't know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company,' Colbert told his audience. 'But just taking a stab at it, I'd say $16 million would help.'
The new Yahoo/YouGov poll shows that more Americans agree with Colbert's theory of why his show was cancelled than agree with other, more 'purely financial' explanations. When asked why CBS and Paramount are canceling the Late Show — and instructed to select all the reasons that apply — the share who select 'Paramount is trying to curry favor with the Trump administration' (37%) and 'Stephen Colbert is too critical of Donald Trump' (36%) is greater than the share who select 'the Late Show is losing money (32%), 'the Late Show is losing viewers' (30%) and 'the late-night format is losing relevance' (26%).
Partisan preferences are clearly playing a role in the reaction to the Late Show's demise. Far more Americans think Colbert is liberal (53%) than think he's moderate (10%) or conservative (3%), and Democrats (72%) are six times more likely to disapprove of the decision than Republicans (12%).
Still, there is no consensus that Colbert has gone overboard politically. In fact, more Americans (35%) say he is "about right" politically than say he's "too political" (28%). And more also favor (46%) than oppose (31%) "late-night talk show hosts getting involved in politics by speaking out on political issues."
That might help explain why a majority of Americans still say they watch Colbert's content — either 'always' (5%), 'occasionally' (21%) or when they 'see clips online' (27%). The rest (47%) say they never watch Colbert.
Finally, when Americans are asked to select up to three of their favorite late-night talk show hosts, Colbert (25%) ties Jimmy Fallon (25%) for first place, with Jimmy Kimmel (22%), Jon Stewart (19%), John Oliver (11%) Seth Meyers (7%), Bill Maher (7%), Andy Cohen (3%) and Taylor Tomlinson (2%) trailing behind them.
__________________
The Yahoo survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,729 U.S. adults interviewed online from July 24 to 28, 2025. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 election turnout and presidential vote, party identification and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Party identification is weighted to the estimated distribution at the time of the election (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). Respondents were selected from YouGov's opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 3.1%.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
Texas Democrats look bad in redistricting fight. Republicans look even worse.
It's obvious that Republicans' bid to redraw Texas' congressional districts, which were approved in 2021, is a raw power grab. I guess it's too much to ask for my home state of Texas to make national news for something that's cool or influential. It's not often that I side with neither Republicans nor Democrats in Texas. But the redistricting debacle making national news is one of those times. I don't know what's worse: That Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to remove House Democrats from office if they didn't return to the Capitol on Aug. 4. That the Texas House on Aug. 4 passed a motion allowing Speaker Dustin Burrows to issue arrest warrants for Democrats who skipped the legislative session. That Democrats in the state House fled Texas for Illinois and New York to prevent the legislature from voting on new congressional district maps. Or that House Republicans, in a bizarre power grab, are trying to redraw congressional maps to ensure that the GOP has an even stronger hold on the state and a better chance of retaining the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm elections. Is this the wild West? The chaos in Texas now threatens to spread to other states. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said they will consider redrawing maps to heavily favor the political party in power in their state. Where will the madness end? Democrats fleeing Texas is not a good look It's a challenge to be a Democratic politician in Texas. They are vastly outnumbered, and those who do hold office have little power. I understand why Democrats are angry. Texas was historically a Democratic stronghold. But Republicans have held the governor's office for the past 30 years and controlled the state legislature for more than two decades. Not a single Democrat serves in statewide office now. Every few years, progressives and the news media champion a Democratic savior who is supposed to be the one to finally turn Texas blue. But candidates like Beto O'Rourke fail repeatedly. Now, along come Texas Republicans trying to gerrymander themselves to even more power. Still, the Democratic leaders fleeing Texas for Illinois and New York are hurting their party's image in our state. Opinion: Democrats have devolved into a clown show. No wonder polls show voters prefer GOP. In a post on X, Rep. Ann Johnson, a Democrat from Houston, tried to make her fellow lawmakers' cowardly retreat noble. "They're willing to break the law to cling to power," Johnson wrote. "We're willing to break quorum to protect it. We don't stand by. We stand up." "We stand up" by fleeing the state is not the winning message that she thinks it is. Texas House Republicans are engaged in a power grab As bad as House Democrats look, however, I have a bigger complaint about Republican legislators. GOP lawmakers have admitted that they are redrawing congressional districts to help Republicans gain even more power. 'Different from everyone else, I'm telling you, I'm not beating around the bush,' Corpus Christi Republican Rep. Todd Hunter, who authored the redistricting bill, said in a hearing. 'We have five new districts, and these five new districts are based on political performance.' I appreciate Hunter's honesty. It's obvious that Republicans' bid to redraw the congressional districts, which were approved in 2021, is a raw power grab. It's unethical and unnecessary. Republicans have reshaped politics and policy in the state over the past 30 years. Voters have given them that power because they have grown the economy and protected our freedoms. Opinion: GDP soars and Trump's economy roars. Liberals still won't give him credit. I love living in Texas because the state's culture matches my conservative values. It's full of history, beauty and gun-carrying, freedom-loving, patriotic men and women. And that's exactly how we convert all those expats from California to become conservatives ‒ through our values, policies and way of life. Not through stupid redistricting efforts that create a national spectacle. I hope the next time Texas makes national news it's because the Dallas Cowboys are ready to win the Super Bowl. Nicole Russell is a columnist at USA TODAY and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@ and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'Mark My Words': George Conway's Chilling Trump Prediction Is 'Just A Matter Of Time'
Conservative attorney George Conway warned that President Donald Trump is steering the nation toward a constitutional crisis. Conway, a longtime Trump critic, shared a report on political turmoil in Israel, where the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted to fire the attorney general who is prosecuting him in a corruption case. The Supreme Court blocked the firing pending judicial review, but one government minister said they would ignore that decision. Conway warned that Trump might try that next in the United States. 'Mark my words,' he wrote on X. 'Trump will defy our Supreme Court too. It's just a matter of time.' Mark my words: Trump will defy our Supreme Court too. It's just a matter of time. — George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 (@gtconway3d) August 4, 2025 Trump and his administration have repeatedly attacked judicial rulings, slow-walking and in some cases threatening to ignore orders, especially in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant wrongly sent to a prison in El Salvador.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump hikes tariffs on Canada to 35%, announces rates from 10% to 40% for dozens of countries
The White House took a step forward with President Trump's plan to remake the trade landscape by releasing new details Thursday evening that included a raft of new tariff rates, now formally authorized by executive order, which set levels from 10% to 40% on nearly every global trading partner. The move represents a giant shakeup in the US's trade order, outlining a 35% tariff on Canada (up from 25% currently) as well as rates above 30% on nations from South Africa to Switzerland. Swiss manufacturers warned Friday that tens of thousands of jobs are at risk after President Trump imposed steep tariffs. But there's a last-minute catch: Nearly all these new rates (except for Canada's) will not go into effect for seven days, instead of a midnight Friday deadline Trump had previously set. "These modifications shall be effective ... on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time 7 days after the date of this order," reads the now signed order. Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs The new tariff rate on Canada is under a different order focused on illicit drugs and will take effect Friday as originally planned. For other nations, the order also allows for an additional delay, with lower, previous rates applied to goods that are loaded onto ships before Aug. 7 that then enter the United States before Oct. 5. But once the new tariffs are in effect, they will be far-reaching. Global stocks fell Friday as Trump imposed tariffs on dozens of countries, advancing his effort to reshape global trade. India, after initial high hopes for a deal that have been bogged down in recent weeks, is set to face a 25% rate, though negotiators there now appear to have another week to make offers. Neighboring Bangladesh secured a 20% US export tariff, down from Trump's proposed 37%. Taiwan is another top US trading partner and is set to see a 20% rate. The White House documentation released Thursday also confirmed some of the parameters of recent deals with other top trading partners, including a 15% rate on the European Union, South Korea, and Japan. It also confirmed that 19%-20% rates are in the offing for a range of Southeast Asian nations, and an unchanged 10% rate is set for the United Kingdom. Thursday's advancement did come after one significant tariff delay Thursday: a 90-day pause on new tariffs on Mexico, as the president decided to keep rates at 25% after a 'very successful' phone call, according to Trump. Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet Dozens of other smaller trading partners saw their tariff rates upped to 15% from 10%, and some nations were not included in Tuesday's release. Those excluded countries included many nations with which the US currently has a trade surplus. They are set to see their rates remain at 10%, a surprise for some after comments from Trump in recent days suggested 15% would be his new minimum. Thursday's order also includes a focus on the growing issue of transshipping, promising an additional tariff of 40% for any goods deemed 'to have been transshipped to evade applicable duties' without providing a further definition on what would meet that standard. Thursday's announcement comes as previously announced 50% levies on copper are also set to go into effect at midnight as well alongside the new Canadian duties. Copper (HG=F) prices edged higher on Friday but were on track for a weekly drop in London as the market digested President Trump's decision. The White House also has plans for 50% tariffs on Brazil, which are set to be fully in effect one day sooner, as that order is operating under its own seven-day clock that began Wednesday. The rapid-fire tariff moves also came as small business importers and the US Justice Department clashed Thursday over whether Trump even has the authority to take these actions. Trump's team relied on the 1977 International Economic Emergency Powers Act to move around the rates, saying it authorizes the president to 'regulate' international commerce after declaring a national emergency. It's also the latest culmination of Trump's intense second-term focus on tariffs. He declared, "I am a tariff man" back in 2018 and has gone much further in his second term. The latest calculations from the Yale Budget Lab found that these new duties, before Thursday's adjustments, suggested consumers already face an overall effective tariff rate of 18.4%, which is the highest rate since 1933. That figure is sure to rise in the coming days as the new tariff levels are digested. The duties — as Trump himself notes almost every day — have also already set multiple new tariff revenue records, even at the previous levels centered around a 10% floor for tariffs. As Trump put it on Thursday, 'Tariffs are making America GREAT & RICH Again,' adding that lower levels seen in previous decades were hurting America and 'now the tide has completely turned.' Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
