Trump denies sole responsibility for CBS firing Stephen Colbert

President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied claims that he was the sole reason for CBS canceling Stephen Colbert's talk show after the network settled a defamation case with the president.

The network announced the show's retirement earlier this month, saying "[w]e consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire 'THE LATE SHOW' franchise at that time." CBS News and Paramount paid Trump $16 million to settle a defamation suit this month related to a "60 minutes" segment.

"Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night. That is not true!" Trump posted on Truth Social. "The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE!"

"Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel, and then, a weak, and very insecure, Jimmy Fallon," he added. "The only real question is, who will go first? Show Biz and Television is a very simple business. If you get Ratings, you can say or do anything. If you don’t, you always become a victim. Colbert became a victim to himself, the other two will follow."

Colbert had long criticized Trump on his program.