Sudden invasion gives CBS Evening News chance to start loving America two days early

New anchor Tony Dokoupil will reportedly be starting his job on Saturday evening thanks to the U.S. attack on Venezuela.

By William Hughes  |  January 3, 2026 | 6:15pm
CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil, Screenshot: YouTube
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Sudden invasion gives CBS Evening News chance to start loving America two days early

Much effort and fanfare has been put, in recent days, toward building up the arrival of newcomer Tony Dokoupil at the anchor seat of CBS Evening News. Dokoupil himself has been making the rounds, explaining his academics-and-elites-agnostic approach to nightly news, while the program made headlines on Friday by revealing a new set of five core principles that loudly asserted, among other things, that “We love America.” All ahead of plans for former CBS Mornings co-host Dokoupil—reportedly tapped for the job after new CBS News head Bari Weiss failed to headhunt any bigger name talent to helm the gig—to begin his new job in a steady and predictable fashion, on Monday, January 5.

But, wouldn’t you know it, international events have conspired to force CBS Evening News to start loving America even more swiftly than expected, as Variety reports that the United States’ Saturday morning invasion of Venezuela has apparently prompted the show to put Dokoupil on the air two days early, beginning with a Saturday night broadcast. (Variety notes that CBS News hasn’t confirmed the plans, but quotes multiple sources “familiar with the matter.”) Which should make for a pretty fascinating litmus test, if nothing else, for exactly what Dokoupil and CBS Evening News‘ newly stated principles will look like in practice, as the new anchor and his staff will have to navigate one of the most confusing and disturbing news days in recent American history. (Litmus test, in this case, translating roughly to “How much boot are they going to lick straight out of the gate?”)

Dokoupil’s installation in the anchor job comes amidst a whole host of wider questions about the fate of CBS News, which Weiss was put in charge of a few months ago under the aegis of new Paramount owner David Ellison. The former New York Times columnist and Free Press founder has already faced criticism for her handling of the job, notably for spiking a 60 Minutes story about the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador in late December.

 

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