Colbert Mocks CBS After 45-Year-Old Anchor Misses Trump-Xi Summit Visa

10 articles · Updated · AlterNet · May 15

Five episodes before The Late Show ends on May 21, Stephen Colbert used his monologue to mock CBS News after anchor Tony Dokoupil failed to get a visa for the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.
Dokoupil instead covered the meeting from Taipei—more than 1,000 miles away—while NBC's Tom Llamas and ABC's David Muir reported from Beijing, underscoring CBS's miss on a major international story.
The reason for the visa failure remains unclear; Semafor reported it may have involved a late application or another issue, adding to pressure on Dokoupil just five months into his primetime CBS role.
Colbert's jab extends his broader public criticism of CBS and parent company Paramount since his show's July 2025 cancellation, which followed his attack on Paramount's $16 million Trump lawsuit settlement.

Is a single visa denial a sign of a deeper crisis threatening the future of a legacy news network?

As media access shrinks, are the U.S. and China heading towards a dangerous information blackout between the two superpowers?