This raises suspicion, as CBS's parent company Paramount made a settlement with Trump before this. CBS said in a statement that "this is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night", and running a late night show can be of course challenging. It also appears that due to declining ad revenue the show is no longer profitable. If CBS wants to end "The Late Show" altogether, not just Colbert's tenure, what are they going to have instead?

I'm not however 100 % buying the idea that this was due to Paramount's settlement. Comedy Central is also owned by Paramount, and if the parent company wanted to bend the knee again, wouldn't this also mean suddenly canceling "The Daily Show" that similarly has heavy-handed political satire aimed at Trump?