Paramount announced last week that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” would be ending in May 2026. While the company claimed the move was a purely “financial decision,” speculation has swirled over whether Colbert’s sharp criticism of Trump had anything to do with his ouster as Paramount looked to get its merger approved.

Letterman, like other press advocates and some Democrats, did not seem satisfied with that answer.

Letterman surmised that Colbert's firing was so the $8 billion merger would be approved by the Trump administration.