By Adam Chitwood

In Wes Craven’s 1997 hit slasher “Scream 2,” a movie-obsessed character spouts off the three rules of horror sequels: The body count is always bigger; 2. The death scenes are always much more elaborate; and 3. Never, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead.

Those same rules could apply to late-night comedy’s approach to tackling Trump 2.0. Just over seven months in, Trump’s threats have already spurred a flurry of corporate parents to ante up large sums of money to settle lawsuits many experts deemed frivolous (higher body count), Stephen Colbert was fired from “The Late Show” mere days after blasting Paramount for paying the president (more elaborate death scene) and a scandal involving Jeffrey Epstein’s client list that would have ended any other president’s tenure continues to be carefully brushed aside by Trump allies in power (don’t assume the killer is dead).