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Axios
28 minutes ago
- Business
- Axios
Trump's billion-dollar settlement spree
President Trump has extracted more than $1.2 billion in settlements from 13 of the most powerful players in academia, law, media and tech, according to an Axios analysis. If finalized, a potential $500 million deal with Harvard would represent the largest scalp to date. Why it matters: America's most elite institutions have largely succumbed to the Trump administration's cultural crackdown, opting to pay up — often to the tune of tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars — rather than fight back. Trump officials frame the settlements as accountability for society's liberal power centers, which they say have been captured by leftist ideology, corrupted by DEI and complicit in antisemitism. Critics say the deals — some of which include direct payments or pro bono legal work for Trump's pet causes — amount to legalized extortion by the federal government. Zoom in: Harvard has expressed a willingness to spend up to $500 million to settle its dispute with the White House, which has accused the university of civil rights violations tied to antisemitism and DEI policies, the New York Times reports. Harvard sued in April after the administration began freezing billions of dollars in federal research funding, insisting it would "not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights." The potential settlement would be more than double the $221 million fine agreed to by Columbia last week, though Harvard is reportedly reluctant to pay the government directly or allow an outside monitor to oversee the deal. The big picture: Trump's coercion of elite institutions — as both president and plaintiff — extends far beyond college campuses. Big Law: At least nine major firms — targeted for their DEI programs or ties to Trump's political enemies — have agreed to settlements, offering between $40 million and $125 million in free legal services to preserve their access to the federal government. Paramount: The CBS parent company paid $16 million this month to settle Trump's lawsuit over the editing of a " 60 Minutes" interview with Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 campaign. The deal cleared the way for the FCC to approve Paramount's $8 billion merger with Skydance, triggering major backlash from Democrats and press freedom activists. Disney: ABC's parent company agreed in December to pay $16 million — primarily directed to Trump's future presidential foundation and museum — to settle a defamation lawsuit the president filed against anchor George Stephanopoulos. Meta: The tech giant paid Trump $25 million in January to settle a 2021 lawsuit that accused the company of violating his First Amendment rights by banning him from Facebook and Instagram after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Between the lines: The few law firms that chose to fight Trump's executive orders have largely prevailed in court so far, suggesting capitulation is not the only viable path forward. Just last week, a federal judge cast serious doubt on Trump's targeting of Harvard — questioning the constitutionality of cutting off research funding over alleged antisemitism and warning of "staggering" due process concerns. What they're saying:"President Trump, the most consequential dealmaker behind the Resolute Desk, has, since day one, crafted tailor-made deals that prioritize America, its people, its enterprises, and common sense," White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement. "Considering the level of buy-in from our allies and industry, no one can dispute the success." What to watch: Trump officials see Columbia's settlement as a playbook for negotiations with other universities, one that combines financial penalties with internal policy changes and external oversight.
Fox News
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Charlie Kirk embraces 'South Park' parody of him in upcoming episode as a 'badge of honor'
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk may have cemented himself as a pop culture figure as he appears to have been parodied by "South Park." In a teaser released Tuesday for its upcoming episode, Kirk's likeness was adopted by iconic "South Park" character Eric Cartman, who is seen with a hairstyle similar to the conservative firebrand and is in a heated spat with a classmate, mirroring Kirk's exchanges with students on college campuses. "You can just shut up, Bebe, because you hate America and you love abortion," Cartman shouts at fellow student Bebe Stevens. Kirk quickly embraced the parody, changing his X profile picture to a screenshot of Cartman and posting to his over 5 million followers, "I'm so watching this." Speaking with Fox News Digital, Kirk said he laughed when he first saw the teaser, saying multiple people sent him the clip. He initially thought it was "some sort of AI troll." "I think it's kind of funny and it kind of goes to show the cultural impact and the resonance that our movement has been able to achieve," Kirk told Fox News Digital. "So I look at this as a badge of honor." Kirk said he hasn't seen as much of "South Park" in recent years as he did in high school, but appreciated the long-running animated series being an "equal opportunity offender." While it's unclear what Cartman's Kirk-like persona does in the episode, which will air August 6, last week's season premiere may give a clue. In the previous episode, Cartman is demoralized after it is declared that "woke is dead," causing the foul-mouthed, offensive fourth-grader to have an identity crisis as everyone else in South Park sheds their cultural sensitivities. Meanwhile, controversy erupted in his hometown when South Park Elementary began injecting Christianity into school, even going so far as having Jesus Christ looming in the hallways. "I'm excited to watch it because, look, we as conservatives need to be able to take a joke, right? We shouldn't take ourselves so seriously," Kirk said. "That's something that the left has always done to great detriment to themselves and their movement." "They're professional comedians. They're probably gonna roast me, and I think that's fine. And that's what it's all about, being in public life and, you know, making a difference. And I'm gonna have a good spirit about it. I'll watch it. I'm going to laugh at it," Kirk continued. "From a religious standpoint, we're all sinners. We all fall short of the glory of God. Like from a more practical life standpoint, we're all broken people. Stop taking yourself so seriously. That's probably one of the problems that we've had in our politics is that people can't take a joke." "South Park," which airs on Comedy Central, held no punches against President Donald Trump after the network's parent company Paramount reached a major settlement with him earlier this month to resolve his "60 Minutes" lawsuit. In the 27th season premiere, Trump was repeatedly compared to the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein (who "South Park" had previously satirized during the Iraq War), depicted him as literally being in bed with Satan, and was lampooned for leveling lawsuit threats. The episode quickly went viral for showing a life-like graphic depiction of the president and his genitalia. "This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. "President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country's history – and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump's hot streak." Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of "South Park," recently reached a whopping $1.5 billion streaming deal with Paramount.
Montreal Gazette
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Opinion: Many reasons to lament Late Show cancellation
Op Eds Was it 'purely a financial decision' for CBS to cancel the Late Show with Stephen Colbert? The network's top-rated late-night comedy was reportedly losing millions, and will wrap up next May. Even Daily Show host Jon Stewart, slamming the decision, conceded the genre is in decline: 'We are all basically operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside of a Tower Records.' Not surprisingly, skepticism abounds. It's not just that Colbert's show has earned 33 Emmy nominations, or that it has been the highest-rated late-night talk show on U.S. television for nine consecutive years. It's not even the dodgy timing of the announcement, coming just days after Colbert criticized CBS for settling a lawsuit by U.S. President Donald Trump, which attacked 60 Minutes over an interview with former vice-president Kamala Harris. OK, it is the timing, but that's not all. The problem is the broader climate of institutional capitulation: the trail of universities, law firms and news organizations rolling over to meet or anticipate the demands of a demagogue. Before Trump even took office, ABC coughed up $16 million to settle a defamation suit it should have fought. Skating behind that disastrous precedent, CBS failed to defend its flagship news show, 60 Minutes, against a spurious claim, at a time when its parent company, Paramount Global, happens to need federal regulatory approval for its $8-billion merger with Skydance Media. Colbert caught the axe two days after he told his audience he was 'offended' by Paramount's $16-million settlement, adding the technical name in legal circles was 'big fat bribe.' Pushback was immediate. Fans, fellow comedians and elected officials speculated Colbert was a political sacrifice. Sen. Elizabeth Warren already had opened an investigation into whether the settlement amounts to bribery. What's at stake is more than entertainment; it's media independence. The criticisms and witticisms of late-night comedy hold powerful people of all stripes to account, delivering context to audiences with a spoonful of sugar. The public outrage over Colbert is heartening, but it has an unfortunate downside. The groundswell of indignation is a useful tool to divert attention from Trump's former friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, which has dominated the news for weeks, despite Trump's best efforts to make it disappear. Epstein's client list is a particular obsession of Republican conspiracists, who were long promised it would reveal a cabal of child-abusing Democrats. Interest intensified after Elon Musk tweeted Trump himself is in the Epstein files, inspiring a kind of spaghetti toss in the Oval Office. Trump has been flinging every kind of distraction at the wall, hoping something would stick. Bombing Iran pulled focus briefly, but the scandal bounced back, particularly when the Wall Street Journal reported on Trump's 'bawdy' contribution to Epstein's birthday book. A flurry of absurd presidential declarations about Coca-Cola ingredients, reverting team names to racial slurs, and threatening various arrests have fooled no one, including a fake, AI-generated video of former president Barack Obama being arrested by the FBI, shared on Truth Social. The irony writes itself. Now, Trump is lingering in Colbert's spotlight. ' I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,' he crowed with typical decorum. The real tell is that Trump is leaning into the controversy despite being implicated in bribery allegations. In a post, he not only took a victory lap about the Paramount settlement, but amped up speculation, noting he anticipates another $20 million in programming or advertising after the merger. Did the president invite speculation on network content concessions just to change the channel? To borrow a phrase from Colbert: it has the ring of 'truthiness.'
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Poll: Americans think Paramount is canceling 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' because of politics — and they don't approve
More favor (46%) than oppose (31%) "late-night talk show hosts getting involved in politics by speaking out on political issues." 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 canceling 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 canceled 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
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Poll: Americans think Paramount is cancelling 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' because of politics — and they don't approve
More favor (46%) than oppose (31%) "late-night talk show hosts getting involved in politics by speaking out on political issues." 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
