According to Jessica Tarlov from Fox News, President Donald Trump’s harsh critiques of Jimmy Kimmel Live! might’ve backfired and inadvertently raised the visibility of Jimmy Kimmel himself in discussions around free speech.
Disney recently announced that they’d step up content oversight for late-night shows, which seemed to be a reaction to the existing controversies in the media landscape. Tarlov pointed out that by criticizing Kimmel, Trump has essentially made it struggle for ABC to take any serious action against him without looking like they’re caving to censorship.
The sparks that ignited this back-and-forth were Kimmel’s comments about political figures related to a recent event: “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.” Quite a loaded statement!
Even after facing a temporary suspension, Kimmel came back strong with his ratings. However, pressured by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group, ABC found itself at a crossroads about how to proceed. The FCC’s Chair, Brendan Carr, hinted at possible regulatory repercussions, saying, “I mean, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” underscoring that Apple wouldn’t just sit even if Kimmel’s ratings drop drastically.
Expressing his dissatisfaction, Trump lashed out at ABC for bringing Kimmel back, tweeting his disbelief: “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his show was cancelled! Let’s see how we do.”
Tarlov wrapped up her insights by noting that Trump’s clash with Kimmel has essentially made it unlikely ABC would lay him off, stating, “Kimmel has become the symbol of this fight for the First Amendment and resistance against government interference.”
John Baker is a writer covering politics and news for Modern Newsstand LLC.
