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![xray_media Avatar](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:24/cr:twitter::1893912133181800448.png) White House Xray [@xray_media](/creator/twitter/xray_media) on x 4596 followers
Created: 2025-07-28 15:16:12 UTC

CBS canceled Colbert’s #1 show weeks after he called Trump’s $16M lawsuit settlement a “bribe”—while Paramount’s $8.4B merger awaited federal approval. Coincidence? The admin’s pattern of punishing critics speaks louder than their denials.  

Colbert averaged 2.42M viewers in 2025—more than Fallon & Kimmel combined. Yet CBS claims “financial reasons” despite paying Trump $16M to settle his “60 Minutes” defamation suit days before cancellation. Trump’s Truth Social post celebrating Colbert’s demise and threatening other hosts reveals the real calculus: media consolidation requires admin approval, comedy requires self-censorship.  

When mergers muzzle mockery, corporate suits become state censors. The joke’s on democracy.


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**Related Topics**
[donald trump](/topic/donald-trump)
[corporate finance](/topic/corporate-finance)
[$84b](/topic/$84b)
[$16m](/topic/$16m)
[trumps](/topic/trumps)

[Post Link](https://x.com/xray_media/status/1949851389045481774)