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The Hill
5 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
Tapper hits CBS parent over Colbert cancellation: Paramount in a ‘bend-the-knee phase'
CNN anchor Jake Tapper criticized CBS's parent company over its recent decision to cancel 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,' arguing that Paramount Global is in a 'bend-the-knee phase' to President Trump. 'Obviously, President Trump has made no secret of his hatred of being mocked, specifically the jokes that people like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel make at his expense. in this era where corporations such as Paramount don't just ignore a president complaining,' Tapper said during his 'The Lead' show on Friday. 'Don't just dismiss any thin-skinned leader, because we live in a country with a First Amendment right to mock the president,' he added. 'That would be one thing, but no Paramount is in a bend-the-knee phase.' CBS announced on Thursday evening that 'The Late Show' will end its run in May 2026. 'This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,' the outlet said in a statement. The news comes weeks after Paramount agreed to a $16 million settlement with Trump over his lawsuit against ' 60 Minutes ' after it aired an interview with former Vice President Harris during the 2024 presidential election. The then-GOP nominee blasted the company for the episode, which he argued was edited in his Democratic rival's favor. The outlet later released a full transcript of the interview. Colbert has often criticized Trump on the show and criticized his own outlet following news of the settlement. 'I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles: it's big, fat bribe,' he joked at the time. The deal also came as Paramount looks to complete a multibillion-dollar merger with entertainment media company Skydance — a move that will require a green light from the Federal Communications Commission. Tapper on Friday called the looming cancellation of the 'Late Show' a way for the company 'to please President Trump as Paramount's Sherry Redstone waits for the Trump administration's blessing for a lucrative merger with a company called Skydance, a merger previously hung up by a substantively very weak lawsuit from Trump against CBS.' Trump, however, celebrated the decision, saying Colbert's talent 'was even less than his ratings.' On the other side, media hosts and Senate Democrats have criticized the move, calling for an investigation into the cancellation. The Writers Guild of America East and West asked New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) on Friday to probe why CBS is canning the show — and inquired if sunsetting the show was meant to assist Paramount.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tillis calls out Trump advisers as ‘amateurs'
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) took a swing Wednesday at President Trump's advisers, calling them amateurs in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. 'I don't have a problem [with] President Trump. I got a — I got a problem with some of the people I consider to be amateurs, advising him,' Tillis said in the interview that aired on CNN's 'The Lead.' 'I'm going to make it very clear to them guys, when you act like the president when I — when he's out of the room, you don't impress me. And they'll hear more of that in the coming months,' he added later. Tillis also said he has 'disagreed with bad advice that some of' the president's 'advisers are giving him, whether it's on a nominee or whether it's on policy.' Republican senators have not been pleased about how Trump treated Tillis recently, with the president blasting the North Carolina Republican last week on social media after Tillis said he would not vote for the 'big, beautiful bill,' Trump's legislative package centered around tax cuts. Tillis is viewed highly among colleagues as a team player with a focus on results, and numerous Republicans believed he would have had the best chance of keeping his seat for Republicans in next year's election. 'Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against 'Senator Thom' Tillis,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late last month. 'I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America.' The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Tillis calls out Trump advisers as ‘amateurs'
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Wednesday took a swing at President Trump's advisers, calling them amateurs in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. 'I don't have a problem [with] President Trump. I got a — I got a problem with some of the people I consider to be amateurs, advising him,' Tillis said in the interview that aired on CNN's 'The Lead.' 'I'm going to make it very clear to them guys, when you act like the President when I — when he's out of the room, you don't impress me. And they'll hear more of that in the coming months,' he added later Tillis also said he has 'disagreed with bad advice that some of — some of' the president's 'advisors are giving him, whether it's on a nominee or whether it's on policy.' Republican senators have not been pleased about how Trump treated Tillis recently, with the president blasting the North Carolina Republican last week on social media after Tillis said he said he would not vote for the 'big, beautiful bill,' Trump's legislative package centered around tax cuts. Tillis is viewed highly among colleagues as a team player with a focus on results, and numerous Republicans believed he would have had the best chance of keeping his seat for Republicans in next year's election. 'Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against 'Senator Thom' Tillis,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late last month. 'I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America.' The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
The Hill
28-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Adams on Cuomo independent bid chatter: ‘I don't focus on what other candidates are doing'
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) on Friday brushed off talks of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo launching an independent bid, saying he's only focused on 'what I am doing.' 'I don't focus on what other candidates are doing. I focus on what I am doing,' Adams said during an appearance on CNN's 'The Lead' with Jake Tapper. 'I came from behind when I ran in 2021, I was head of 13-point deficit from the leading opponent in the race,' he told Tapper. 'And as you see, we were successful. I know I did campaign, I know how to speak to voters.' The mayor added, 'I'm a working class mayor. I'm a blue collar mayor, and I would resonate in the residents of this city. They see I'm one of them.' His comments come days after New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani seemed to edge out Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary — though results in the city's ranked-choice voting system are not final. Cuomo conceded to Mamdani, 33, after Tuesday's ballots were counted. Adams launched his own independent bid following the election. When asked if he's considered following in the mayor's footsteps, Cuomo told CBS News on Wednesday that he is 'assessing that landscape.' Mamdani also dismissed the chatter, saying he's 'not at all' concerned about that possibility. Asked about the self-proclaimed democratic socialist's perceived victory and what it means for the general election, Adams slammed the state lawmaker — who has lobbied for Palestine to become its own U.S.-recognized state — for being a 'pro-Hamas' candidate. 'I'm not competing against him only for what he's done and praising Hamas,' he told Tapper, a after highlighting the ways he believes Mamdani has backed the U.S.-designated terrorist organization amid its war with Israel. 'I'm competing against him because this is not a socialist city, and that much of what he's promising to people, which I think is really deplorable, people that are struggling like my family did of living without the means that we needed.' Adams earlier in the week also accused his opponent of being disingenuous. 'He's a snake oil salesman,' Adams told 'Fox & Friends' on Wednesday. 'He would say and do anything to get elected.' Tapper questioned the incumbent mayor on reports that he made a deal with the Trump administration to ramp up immigration enforcement in the Big Apple, following the Justice Department's decision to drop federal corruption charges against him. 'I never met the president prior to him running for office, never met in my life. He talked about the unfairness of the charges while he was on the campaign trail. And the first time we met, he also articulated the unfairness and the Justice Department used the same system that determines if someone should be indicted,' Adams said. 'They use that system to determine that I should not have been indicted, and the charges were dropped with prejudice,' he added. The mayor has denied the allegations in the past, even after several DOJ officials resigned following the Trump administration's move to drop the corruption charges.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen Arrives In Tehran; First Western Journalist To Enter Country Since Start Of Latest Conflict With Israel, Network Says
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen filed his first report on Wednesday after arriving in Tehran, reporting on hearing anti-aircraft gunfire as well as the sounds of potential Israeli airstrikes or some sort of interceptions. 'There's very few people actually though here. A lot of people appear to have left,' Pleitgen said of the streets of the city. In his report on The Lead with Jake Tapper, he reported that there was 'a good amount of traffic' going out of the city and stores that were closed. More from Deadline Iranian National TV Headquarters Hit By Israeli Airstrike During Live Broadcast Donald Trump Says Tucker Carlson Apologized Amid MAGA Split On U.S. Involvement In Iran Strikes Donald Trump Appears To Praise David Ellison Amid Pending Skydance-Paramount Merger Approval, Settlement Talks In '60 Minutes' Lawsuit He said that they drove through Iran, 'the mood there is fairly calm. Not a lot of panic.' In a digital video, Pleitgen, traveling with his producer, also described driving through a 'substantial part' of Iran to get to Tehran, where it 'appears to be almost business as usual.' The network said that Pleitgen is the first Western journalist to enter the country since the conflict with Israel started. President Donald Trump said earlier Wednesday that he had not yet decided on whether the U.S. would take part in further efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear arsenal. Pleitgen is CNN senior international correspondent and anchor. Networks have been mobilizing crews and coverage in the region since the Israeli airstrikes started on Thursday. Much of the reporting from the Middle East on broadcast and cable networks has been from Israel, as journalists have been reporting on Iran's retaliatory strikes and the damage in Tel Aviv and elsewhere. CNN has been providing images from Tehran from Iran's Mehr News Agency. The Committee to Protect Journalists said that the conflict with Israel has already increased media censorship among Iranian journalists, in a country where the government already controls broadcasting. CNN earlier in the day featured Christiane Amanpour's interview with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, who told her, 'If the Americans decide to get involved militarily, we have no choice but to retaliate, wherever we find the targets necessary to be acted upon.' Best of Deadline 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series 'Stick' Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Soundtrack: From Griff To Sabrina Carpenter
