CBS settlement with Trump slammed by journalists, commentators as 'appalling' surrender

Paramount Global and CBS' settlement with President Donald Trump was widely criticized by members of the press on Wednesday after the company agreed to settle the president's election interference lawsuit. 

Appearing on CNN to discuss the news, media reporter Brian Stelter said it was a "disturbing development" for the news media to simply pay off Trump to make him "go away."

"It does create a worrisome, slippery slope," he said.

"This is insane, and boycotts [may be] called for," CNN commentator and former congressman Adam Kinzinger wrote.

Paramount Global and CBS agreed on Tuesday to pay Trump a sum that could reach north of $30 million to settle the lawsuit against the network. Trump will receive $16 million upfront. This will cover legal fees, costs of the case, and contributions to his future presidential library or charitable causes, to be determined at Trump’s discretion. 

There is anticipation that there will be another allocation in the mid-eight figures set aside for advertisements, public service announcements, or other similar transmissions, in support of conservative causes by the network in the future, Fox News Digital has learned. With these considerations, CBS would pay well in excess of the $15 million ABC paid Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit last year. Current Paramount management disputes the additional allocation.

CBS News signage ahead of the first vice presidential debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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"Presidential extortion as a tool of power and corruption," David Frum, a writer for The Atlantic, posted on X.

Sources close to the situation told Fox News Digital that CBS has agreed to update its editorial standards to install a mandatory new rule. Going forward, the network will promptly release full, unedited transcripts of future presidential candidates’ interviews. People involved in the settlement talks have referred to this as the "Trump Rule." 

Marlow Stern, a professor at the Columbia Journalism School, said the president effectively blackmailed Paramount and accused him of an "unprecedented level of corruption."

"The deal is the clearest sign yet of Trump's ability to intimidate major American institutions," David Enrich, an editor at The New York Times, wrote. 

"Capitulation is for cowards. All it does is embolden the bully," Tara Setmayer, a former adviser for the left-wing Lincoln Project, wrote. 

Trump was seeking $20 billion in his lawsuit against CBS over its handling of a "60 Minutes" interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing the network of election interference leading up to the 2024 contest. CBS is not acknowledging any journalistic wrongdoing with the settlement. 

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The Bulwark's Sam Stein also called out Paramount.

"When [your] big victory is that you didn't have to apologize as part of the $16m settlement you're paying for doing absolutely nothing wrong—and, in fact, operating by standard editorial procedures—then maybe you lost," Stein posted.

Ex-NBC News reporter Joshua Johnson said many of the CBS programs he respected were dishonored by Paramount's "cowardice, greed and stupidity." 

"It’s stunning how quickly corporate media is burning itself to death. Just disgusting," Johnson wrote before continuing in a follow-up post. "And what did @CBSMornings lead with today? Weather! That’s like finding out you’ve been disowned one night, and when you sit down to breakfast the next day all you say is, 'How about that rain, huh?'"

Johnson added, "This is existential. MAKE NOISE ABOUT THIS."

"Pod Save America" co-host Dan Pfeiffer reacted to the settlement as well, writing, "Media companies must now pay tribute to the President for the privilege of continuing to exercise their First Amendment rights. Great stuff."

The Freedom of the Press Foundation slammed the settlement on X as well, calling the decision by Paramount "spineless."

"Tragic. Heartbreaking. What a major disappointment. Wow," journalist Maria Shriver wrote.

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Ex-CNN journalist Jim Acosta said it was "horrible news."

Liberal journalist John Harwood, another former CNN figure who now writes for the far-left site Zeteo, called it "repulsive." 

"The Left Hook" substack writer Wajahat Ali called for people to cancel their Paramount+ descriptions.

Ex-CNN reporter Chris Cillizza said the case was "completely baseless," and that CBS' move to settle was "utterly appalling."

Fox News' Joseph Wulfsohn and Brian Flood contributed to this report.

Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.