Barack Obama is calling out the Trump administration for its role in pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live” off the air.
“After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it 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,” the former president wrote on X on Thursday, linking to Yahoo News’ reposting of a Vox article that calls the Kimmel suspension “Trump’s most brazen attack on free speech yet.”
ABC halted production on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Wednesday after the FCC threatened to take action against the network for the host’s recent comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said on air Monday. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” the FCC’s Trump-appointed chairman Brendan Carr said on a podcast two days later. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Shortly afterward, Kimmel’s show was pulled from all ABC affiliate stations owned by Nexstar and Sinclair. Nexstar, it should be noted, is currently seeking FCC approval to acquire TV station owner Tegna, while Sinclair is well known for its conservative politics and has also announced plans to consider merger and acquisition opportunities that would require FCC approval. ABC put an indefinite pause on production soon after its station owners’ decisions were made public.
Unlike Obama, Trump has celebrated the move. “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT”