US President Donald Trump suggested television networks should have their licences “taken away” as he backed America’s broadcast regulator in a dispute that led to Jimmy Kimmel’s indefinite suspension from ABC.
Disney’s ABC pulled the comedian’s late-night show off air following his remarks about the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk in Utah last week. Kimmel had suggested the suspect was linked to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, though officials indicated the shooter was “indoctrinated with leftist ideology”.
The suspension came hours after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, threatened regulatory action against ABC, raising concerns the administration is curtailing critics’ free speech.
ABC suspends late-night host indefinitely after regulatory pressure
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Trump said: “I have read some place that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily. They give me only bad publicity [and] press. I mean, they’re getting a licence. I would think maybe their licence should be taken away.”
During Monday’s monologue, Kimmel stated the “MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them” and attempting to “score political points from it”. He also likened Trump’s reaction to his 31-year-old political confidant’s death to “how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish”.
FCC Chair Carr accused Kimmel of “the sickest conduct possible” and warned companies like Disney-owned ABC could “find ways to change conduct and take action… or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC”.
Multiple affiliate stations drop show following FCC warnings
Nexstar Media, one of America’s largest television station owners, announced it would not air Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future”, describing his remarks as “offensive and insensitive”. The company is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna.
Sinclair, the largest ABC affiliate group in the United States, similarly suspended the show and demanded Kimmel apologise to Kirk’s family and make a “meaningful personal donation” to both them and Turning Point USA.
Kirk died from a single gunshot wound to the neck whilst speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10. Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested and charged with aggravated murder, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty.
Entertainment industry condemns suspension as free speech violation
Former President Barack Obama criticised the Trump administration for taking cancel culture to a “new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like”.
Comedian Jon Stewart described himself as a “patriotically obedient host” in a rare mid-week Daily Show episode, referring to Trump as “dear leader” who has been “gracing England with his legendary warmth and radiance”.
Actor Ben Stiller said Kimmel’s suspension “isn’t right”, whilst Stephen Colbert called it “blatant censorship”, stating: “With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch”. CBS announced in July it would not renew Colbert’s show, citing financial pressures.
Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic FCC commissioner, criticised Carr’s threats, stating: “This Administration is increasingly using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression”.
