CBS threw itself off a cliff to please Trump

The latest round of ratings isn't happy news for any of the broadcast networks. The big three continue to slowly bleed away evening news viewers, especially in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age bracket. But if all the networks are hurting, one is feeling that pain a lot more than its competitors.

The CBS Evening News, for decades the most-watched source of broadcast news for Americans, has been in a slow decline since the 1990s. Even in 2000, with Dan Rather in the chair, CBS had fallen behind both ABC and NBC, drawing an audience about 80% of its two rivals.

By 2020, ABC had begun edging away from the other networks, with around 9 million viewers, while CBS had dipped to third, bringing in only about 6 million. However, as late as December of 2025, CBS was pulling in 56% as many views as ABC.

For everyone remaining at CBS, that must seem like a long time ago.

In the last six months, CBS Evening News lost over 10% of its audience, dropping roughly 500,000 viewers. Over the same period, ABC picked up ... about 500,000 viewers.

It's easy—and not at all wrong—to blame this shift on the boneheaded incompetence of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss. Weiss, who rose to national prominence for her editorial rants about "left-wing intolerance," "cancel culture," and COVID-19 vaccines, was plopped into the driver's seat after David Ellison, backed by his Donald Trump-loving father's billions, bought out Paramount and canned much of the existing leadership.

Weiss has demonstrated her mad editorial skillz by putting Tony Dokoupil into the anchor's chair, blocking a 60 Minutes segment just minutes before it was set to air, and laying off experienced reporters and crew. Her restructuring of the news department included shuttering a radio service that had run for over 100 years and laying off many of the most respected reporters. Meanwhile, her MAGA-friendly editorial hand has come down hard on both the Evening News and 60 Minutes, with insiders worried that the worst is still to come.

It's a combination that has wrecked the network's credibility with viewers. Possibly beyond repair, But Weiss shouldn't get all of the blame for CBS falling on its face. She's had plenty of help.

In July of 2025, with Paramount execs thirsty for the sweet rain of cash they expected from a Skydance buyout, the network agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle a baseless lawsuit that was rightly labeled "transparently ridiculous" by Rachel Maddow.

Trump has, among other things, called for CBS to lose its broadcasting license, asked for “60 Minutes” to be pulled from the air, labeled the show and the network a “threat to democracy,” described the imaginary controversy as “the single biggest scandal in broadcast history,” and even characterized the non-story as “totally illegal.”

When Late Show host Stephen Colbert dared to mention how CBS's parent company had knuckled under to Trump to grease approval of the Skydance deal, CBS responded by announcing that it was cancelling the most popular late-night broadcast.

As The New York Times puts it, CBS didn't cancel Colbert. It cancelled itself.

Even before Ellison took charge, the network had discarded its integrity. With Colbert's departure, it has purged its conscience. Now, with Ellison handing out shovels and Weiss enthusiastically digging the grave, CBS is burying the last vestiges of a once storied history.

But don't worry. The network can certainly whip up another acronym-centric show to fill out its roster of jingoistic paramilitary cop dramas. How about Miami: ICE?