Jon Stewart takes on his own bosses over Paramount’s Trump settlement

Jon Stewart took aim at his networkβs parent firm Paramount Global for paying $16 million to settle President Trumpβs lawsuit against CBS News, calling the move a payoff for approval of a pending merger.
On the Monday edition of Comedy Centralβs βThe Daily Show,β Stewart and guest and former β60 Minutesβ correspondent Steve Kroft laid out the details of the legal skirmish, which they agreed felt like an organized crime shakedown.
βIβm obviously not a lawyer, but I did watch βGoodfellas,ββ Stewart said. βThat sounds illegal.β
Last week, Paramount Global agreed to pay $16 million to settle the legal volley from Trump, who claimed β60 Minutesβ edited an interview with his 2024 election opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, to make her look better and bolster her chances in the election. CBS denied the claims, saying the edits were routine.
But the suit β described as frivolous by 1st Amendment experts β was seen as an obstacle to Paramount Globalβs proposed $8-billion merger with David Ellisonβs Skydance Media. The deal requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission, led by Trump acolyte Brendan Carr.
Stewart rhetorically asked Kroft if this settlement was βjust a payment so this merger can go through and not be challenged by Trumpβs FCC?β
Kroft, who noted that Paramount Global majority shareholder Shari Redstone wants the sale to go through, confirmed Stewartβs assessment.
Kroft noted that β60 Minutesβ never said it screwed up, βthey just paid the money.β
βSo just flat-out protection money,β Stewart said.
βYeah, it was a shakedown,β Kroft said.
Comedy Central, the cable network that serves as the home of βThe Daily Show,β will be included in the Skydance deal. But Stewart remained relentless throughout the segment.
βIt doesnβt feel like scrutiny on news networks β it feels like fealty,β Stewart said. βThey are being held to a standard that will never be satisfactory to Donald Trump. No one can ever kiss his ass enough.β
Stewart has always spoken his mind on βThe Daily Show,β delivering mostly harsh assessments of Trump. It remains to be seen if heβll have that freedom when Skydance, led by Trump supporter Larry Ellison and his son David, eventually takes over.
Stewart returned to Comedy Central after parting ways with Apple TV in 2023. His last program, βThe Problem With Jon Stewart,β ended after Apple executives reportedly expressed concerns over the comedianβs handling of potential show topics related to China and artificial intelligence.
Apple has deep ties to China and has launched an artificial intelligence product incorporated into its operating systems.
Stewart demonstrated the shakiness of the Trump lawsuitβs claims with an edited Fox News interview with Trump from last year.
Trump appeared to give a simple yes when asked on βFox & Friends Weekend,β if he would de-classify government files on convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. However, Trump equivocated in a longer version of the answer that aired later on the network.
With the Harris interview, CBS News split an answer on Israel that she gave to β60 Minutesβ presenting one portion on its Sunday round table program on βFace the Nation.β A different portion aired on the actual program, which led Trump supporters to cry foul.
βI would like to know why the β60 Minutesβ edit was worthy of a $16-million acquiescence of what is considered the Tiffany news, gold standard network … when very clearly, Fox just did what seems to me a more egregious edit,β Stewart said.
A representative for Paramount Global had no comment on Stewartβs remarks.
Kroft said the the mood is bleak at β60 Minutesβ in the aftermath of the settlement.
βI think there is a lot of fear over there,β he said. βFear of losing their jobs. Fear of losing their country. Fear of losing the 1st Amendment.β