Man, you gotta hand it to ABC. The velocity with which it’ll knuckle below to President Donald Trump is basically spectacular.
It took only some hours for the powers that be to indefinitely sideline award-winning late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after the Trump administration expressed displeasure with Kimmel’s current monologue.
Let’s peep this timeline. On Wednesday afternoon, Federal Communications Fee Chair Brendan Carr went on Benny Johnson’s podcast, which is seemingly the place the federal government declares investigations now, and threatened ABC over remarks Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk’s killer. By early night, ABC had pulled Kimmel’s show indefinitely.
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That may be a quick turnaround! After all, ABC has all the time been good about capitulating to Trump rapidly. After he received the 2024 election, ABC executives didn’t even trouble to attend till he took workplace earlier than handing him $16 million within the hopes his administration would go away them alone.
Suckers. That $16 million, ostensibly paid to settle a meritless defamation lawsuit Trump filed, didn’t purchase them something. You’ll be able to’t negotiate with terrorists. All ABC did was present how prepared it was to accede to Trump’s calls for.
Carr’s menace was in no way refined. He advised Johnson that the FCC “can do that the straightforward means or the onerous means,” which is a few actually bizarre mobster speak to come back out of the mouth of an company chair. Then he made clear what the “straightforward means” was: “These firms can discover methods to vary conduct and take motion, frankly, on Kimmel or there’s going to be extra work for the FCC forward.”
So what horrible issues did Kimmel say that warranted ABC yanking his present primarily based on just a few phrases from Carr? You’ll be able to watch Kimmel’s total monologue and see for your self.
The remarks that Carr was most incensed about have been, to be trustworthy, delicate as fuck and don’t represent something remotely actionable. However hey, he was speaking about Charlie Kirk, and we now have a whole federal government weaponized towards anybody who isn’t lavishly praising Kirk. What particularly had Carr so livid?
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang attempting to characterize this child who killed Charlie Kirk as something apart from one in every of them,” Kimmel stated. He additionally stated that MAGA was utilizing Kirk’s dying to attain political factors.
Right here’s the factor. That’s completely what the MAGA gang did the second the world discovered Kirk was useless. They’ve sought guilty the left writ large and transgender people particularly. The truth that Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, may have been motivated by a need to cease Kirk’s hatred or as a result of he had a trans roommate doesn’t change that.
So now you don’t simply get in hassle for insufficiently praising Charlie Kirk because the 13th disciple or best civil rights hero in historical past or no matter. You additionally get in hassle for speaking about what Trump’s supporters—together with members of his administration—are doing. Bought it.
One of many largest TV station homeowners within the nation, Nexstar Media, instantly told ABC it could pre-empt Kimmel’s present over his remarks. What prompted Nexstar to drop Kimmel so rapidly?
Based on Nexstar, Kimmel’s comments were “offensive and insensitive at a essential time in our nationwide political discourse, and we don’t consider they mirror the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the native communities during which we’re positioned.”
Censoring Kimmel, per Nexstar, is definitely cool and nice, as a result of it’ll “let cooler heads prevail as we transfer towards the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”
Positive, perhaps it’s that, however maybe it’s that Nexstar just inked a $6.2 billion take care of rival broadcast station proprietor Tegna, and that deal wants approval from the Trump administration.
Sinclair, the largest ABC affiliate group within the nation, announced that Kimmel ought to “subject a direct apology to the Kirk household “ and “make a significant private donation to the Kirk Household and Turning Level USA.”
That’s proper—for the crime of criticizing the abhorrent means the proper is utilizing Kirk’s dying, Kimmel has to apologize and donate his personal cash to Kirk’s far-right trigger.
Sinclair additionally stated it “will air a particular remembrance of Charlie Kirk this Friday, throughout Jimmy Kimmel Dwell’s timeslot” and that the particular “can even air throughout all Sinclair stations this weekend.”
Kimmel now joins Stephen Colbert, whose present was canceled by CBS in what was clearly a quid pro quo for the administration to approve the merger between Paramount and Skydance. Carr fortunately took credit score for that, and clearly felt—accurately—that FCC threats get outcomes.
Plus, Carr was simply delivering on what Trump demanded again in July on Truth Social after CBS canceled Stephen Colbert’s present in what was clearly a quid pro quo for the administration to approve the merger between Paramount and Skydance.
“I completely love that Colbert acquired fired. His expertise was even lower than his rankings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is subsequent,” he posted on social media. “Has even much less expertise than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is healthier than all of them mixed, together with the Moron on NBC who ruined the as soon as nice Tonight Present.”
On Wednesday, after information broke that ABC had pulled Kimmel’s exhibit the air, Trump listed his subsequent calls for on social media.
Chat, is it good when networks fireplace their award-winning late-night hosts to curry favor with the regime? Is it good that we’re all going to need to fake Fox Information host Greg Gutfield is humorous?
Right here’s the factor. Each take care of this administration is a foul discount. By giving in so swiftly on Trump’s sham defamation lawsuit final yr, ABC let the administration know simply how weak-willed it’s, weak to the slightest stress.
Trump will simply hold coming after any media firm that ever speaks sick of him or his fellow vacationers, and no sum of money goes to repair that. Until ABC desires to show into Fox or Newsmax, that is their future.
Editor’s observe: This story has been up to date with a response from Trump and an announcement by Sinclair, the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group.
