It’s safe to assume that Donald Trump is likely jumping with joy over Jimmy Kimmel Live! getting suspended by ABC over host Jimmy Kimmel’s viral comments about Charlie Kirk.
After attending a state dinner earlier in the evening, the president took to Truth Social at 1 a.m. in the U.K., writing, “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. 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”
Though Trump called the show canceled, ABC only suspended it “indefinitely.”
Kimmel drew heat from Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr after he suspected Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson was a MAGA Republican during his opening monologue on Tuesday night’s show. “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 and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said at the time.
On Wednesday, Carr condemned the late-night host’s comments and threatened to take action against ABC affiliates over Kimmel’s comments. “[This] appears to be an action by Jimmy Kimmel to play into the narrative that this was somehow a MAGA or Republican-motivated person,” Carr said on a podcast. “What people don’t understand is that the broadcasters … have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest. When we see stuff like this, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Nexstar, which owns 28 ABC affiliates across the country, was the first to pre-empt the series for the immediate future. Then an ABC network spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be “pre-empted indefinitely.”
