Ƶ Responds to Trump Administration Move Censoring Jimmy Kimmel
Trump's FCC Chair Threatens ABC Over Jimmy Kimmel's Monologue; ABC Caves and Pulls Kimmel's Show ‘Indefinitely’
WASHINGTON – During a podcast earlier today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr criticized a monologue by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, televised earlier this week, that had focused on Trump supporters' work to try to make sure that MAGA supporters were not seen as responsible for the killing of Charlie Kirk.
Carr specifically called on ABC affiliates to inform ABC that they would not carry Kimmel's show, and pointed out the power that the FCC has over the broadcasting licenses of the affiliates.
Nexstar, a company owning multiple ABC affiliates – and that reportedly needs FCC approval to complete a $6.2 billion acquisition of the Tegna broadcasting company (which would result in Nexstar being the largest owner of local broadcasters in the nation) – announced that it would no longer carry Kimmel's show. ABC announced that it is suspending Kimmel “indefinitely.”
This action by the Trump administration comes just two days after President Donald Trump sued the New York Times, the book publisher Penguin Random House, and four New York Times reporters for news reporting and analysis that the president disliked. It also follows other national broadcasters changing their programming after pressure from the Trump administration, and with business pending before the FCC.
Christopher Anders, director of the Democracy and Technology Division at the Ƶ, said:
“Jimmy Kimmel is the latest target of the Trump administration’s unconstitutional plan to silence its critics and control what the American people watch and read. Cowering to threats, ABC and the biggest owner of its affiliate stations gave the Trump FCC chairman exactly what he wanted by suspending Kimmel indefinitely and dropping the show.
“This is beyond McCarthyism. Trump officials are repeatedly abusing their power to stop ideas they don’t like, deciding who can speak, write, and even joke. The Trump administration's actions, paired with ABC's capitulation, represent a grave threat to our First Amendment freedoms.”