Our new book is The Comeback: The 2024 Elections and American Politics. The second Trump administration has been full of ominous developments. Last week, a gunman murdered Charlie Kirk. Trump and his followers are exploiting the tragedy to attack their opponents --or use the power of government to censor them.
[Jimmy] Kimmel was heavily criticized on the right for a line in his Monday show discussing the arrest of Kirk’s suspected killer, Tyler Robinson. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said. (Watch the whole clip here.)
It was kind of a throwaway line (and Kimmel had previously passed on heartfelt condolences to the Kirks). But it was also a pretty weird thing to say, given we’d heard from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox the day before that investigators had indicated Robinson had a “leftist ideology.” Conservatives saw Kimmel’s words as part of a wider pattern of liberal voices trying to muddy the waters about the motives behind Kirk’s killing. He has not addressed what he said.
But let’s be clear: None of this was likely to get Kimmel canned. But then Brendan Carr, Trump’s FCC chair, entered into the fray, piling public pressure on ABC and its owner, Disney, to take action by threatening dark consequences if it refused to do so. Status’ Oliver Darcy reports that an afternoon of panicked executive meetings ensued and that Kimmel planned to address the controversy head-on. ABC’s affiliates piled on the pressure. Eventually, Disney execs pulled the plug.
The fallout: Carr celebrated by sending various gloating memes to media reporters. Kimmel is said to be furious, per the Daily Mail. Puck’s Dylan Byers reckons ABC bosses still hope to get the matter “resolved” and “have the show return.” In the meantime, some ABC-affiliate stations will broadcast tributes to Kirk during Kimmel’s slot on Friday. Trump wants NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers next.
For conservatives, this is a FAFO moment: Kimmel made false insinuations at a highly sensitive time and is being held accountable by his bosses. His show was losing viewers and money anyway, they say, and now the market has done its thing. He can always head to YouTube if he’s so popular.
For liberals, this is another huge Rubicon crossed — borderline state censorship in a country that prides itself on free speech. A president who hates being mocked and ridiculed had been pressuring TV bosses to fire a prominent critic for months. This week he used the power of the FCC to force the issue.
