May 10, 2026

Jimmy Kimmel Charlie Kirk

The FCC is considering abolishing what has been called the third rail in broadcasting politics, the national ownership cap. This cap is set at 39%, which means station owners cannot own more than 39% of the affiliates of a national broadcaster’s network.

The move is being considered to allow, theoretically, conservative affiliate owners a chance to push back against anti-American broadcasting, with the Jimmy Kimmel kerfuffle being the foil for the theoretical action.

Blurb:

President Donald J. Trump continues to shake Washington to its core, highlighting and reforming issues that have been on the back burner for decades. Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — led by Brendan Carr, Anna Gomez, and Olivia Trusty — is no exception, publicly raising the specter of abolishing the FCC’s national ownership cap.

For the media establishment, this is like touching the third rail. For generations, from Dan Rather to Jimmy Kimmel, Americans have been force-fed a steady diet of liberalism from the big three television channels.

Ending the ownership cap would allow conservative local broadcasters to compete with the likes of networks ABC and force broadcasts to actually reflect the country’s values.

Blurb:

Disney’s late-night funnyman Jimmy Kimmel said he didn’t see what the “problem” was with his comments about slain conservative icon and free speech martyr Charlie Kirk, and blamed “right-wing media networks” for the backlash he received, claiming conservative reporters “intentionally” and “maliciously mischaracterized” his controversial remarks.

“I didn’t think there was a big problem, You know? I just saw it as distortion on the part of some of the right-wing media networks, and I aimed to correct it,” Kimmel said of his comments about Kirk’s assassination during a Wednesday interview with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw for Bloomberg Screentime.

“Sometimes you think, ‘Oh, this is not a problem,’ and then it turns into a big problem, and then sometimes it goes the other way, where you think, ‘Uh oh, this is going to be a problem,’ and then nobody really notices.”

Jimmy Kimmel’s Ratings Collapse, Only Took ‘Comedian’ 5 Shows to End Up Back in the Basement– www.westernjournal.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Love him or hate him, that adage did bear true when ABC semi-funnyman Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off airwaves for lying about the Charlie Kirk assassin in mid-September.

Kimmel came back from his five-day suspension to an undeniably massive audience: 6.48 million viewers, according to Mediaite.

But if absence makes the heart grow fonder, does presence make the heart grow weary?

Love him or hate him, that appears to be true about Kimmel, as well.

Jimmy Kimmel Doesn’t Spare Trump As He Returns to ABC– www.vanityfair.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Jimmy Kimmel returned to ABC on Tuesday night after his week-long suspension with a monologue where he acknowledged that his situation had led him to embrace a few strange bedfellows. Kimmel even thanked his longtime antagonist Ted Cruz for voicing support on Kimmel’s behalf–though the comedian couldn’t resist getting in a joke at the Texas senator’s expense. “If Ted Cruz can’t speak freely, then he can’t cast spells on the Smurfs,” he said.

The host returned to his late night time slot eight days after comments he made about the MAGA movement’s response to the murder of Charlie Kirk. Trump administration FCC Chair Brendan Carr complained about Kimmel on a podcast, and in turn led ABC to announce that Jimmy Kimmel Live had been pulled from the air “indefinitely.”

Though Kimmel did directly address Carr’s comments—and poked fun at the federal employee’s total about-face regarding the importance of political satire—he sounded a note of contrition about the comments that had led to his suspension in the first place. “It was never my intention to make light of a murder of a young man,” Kimmel said, getting choked up. “This was a sick person who believed violence is the answer, and it isn’t ever.”

He also praised Erika Kirk for the comments she made at her husband’s livestreamed memorial on Sunday night. “I don’t know if you saw this—Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband,” he said. “That is an example we should follow. If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was. That’s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply.”

Kimmel Backers Silent On Dems’ Threats Against Broadcasters– thefederalist.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

When broadcasters first committed to kicking Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the airwaves over his egregious lies about Charlie Kirk’s assassination, leftists everywhere threw public tantrums accusing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr of authoritarianism. In reality, the true government threat of bullying to broadcasters comes not from the FCC, but from Democrats who have threatened to take action against the media companies refusing to reinstate Kimmel’s timeslot.

Private TV station owners are, of course, not obligated under federal law to publicize certain content — especially if that content is, at best, a tone-deaf rejection of calls to turn down the temperature, and at worst and most likely, deliberate dishonesty designed to foment more division.

Yet Democrats, spineless Republicans, and celebrities rushed to defend Kimmel against what they claimed was an “attack on free speech.” “Jawboning,” a word used to denote using authority to pressure for a certain outcome, dominated corporate media headlines.

As if pretending the Trump administration forced broadcasters into “censoring” the late night host wasn’t enough, Politico even encouraged Kimmel that he had “precedent on his side” if he wanted to go before the Supreme Court. The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board additionally declared the Kimmel controversy was an example of “cancel culture and regulatory abuse.”

What Kimmel’s Return Really Says About Free Speech – PJ Media– pjmedia.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

The news that ABC has quietly reinstated Jimmy Kimmel to his late-night perch is being sold as a triumph for free speech, but the truth is more cynical and more troubling. Kimmel was not fired because he made a joke or voiced an opinion; he was suspended because he refused to apologize. That distinction matters, though few in the media want to spell it out. In America, you can say just about anything you want — but your employer can still show you the door if you embarrass them. In Kimmel’s case, he was told to issue a mea culpa for the timing and tone of his remarks about Charlie Kirk. He didn’t, and that’s why his show went dark. To pretend this was a First Amendment battle is to miss the point entirely.

No one is saying Kimmel doesn’t have the right to call Charlie Kirk an “a**hole” or worse. He can stand on the roof of his studio, shout it into a megaphone, and nobody can haul him away for it. That’s free speech. But ABC also has the right to discipline him if they think his words cross a line. Networks exercise that right all the time. Roseanne Barr tweeted something offensive, and she was gone by the next morning. Dave Chappelle tells jokes that offend progressive orthodoxy, and activists swarm Netflix demanding his cancellation. Scott Baio, who gave speeches supporting Donald Trump, was effectively blackballed from Hollywood altogether. There was no handwringing about free speech when those artists were sidelined. They weren’t rescued by a sympathetic network; they were shut out. Yet Kimmel gets a different standard. Why? Because he is one of their own.

This is what rankles. When comedians or commentators outside the approved ideological bubble speak freely, they are punished. When insiders cross a line, they get a slap on the wrist and a glossy press release about the “importance of diverse viewpoints.” That’s not free speech. That’s favoritism. And it’s a telltale sign that America’s cultural and corporate institutions are not neutral referees. They are for sale to the highest bidder.

ABC Affiliates Refuse To Back Down, Still Won’t Show Kimmel: ‘Spines Of Steel’– trendingpoliticsnews.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Broadcasting giant Sinclair, which owns dozens of ABC affiliates across several states, confirmed Wednesday that it will continue to withhold airings of Jimmy Kimmel Live! until the titular host issues a formal apology for his comments about the Charlie Kirk assassination.

Kimmel was suspended for several days after he falsely claimed that the shooter was a “MAGA” supporter, prompting massive backlash against ABC and the show’s advertisers. After Sinclair and fellow broadcasting juggernaut Nextstar announced that they would be preempting Kimmel’s show in favor of news programming unless a retraction was issued, ABC announced that Kimmel’s show would be suspended “indefinitely.”

After several days of negotiations between Kimmel and the network, the host returned to the airwaves on Tuesday night. Kimmel did tearfully state that he did not intend to “celebrate the murder of a young man,” and apologized for anyone who thought his comments might have been taken out of context, though his statement fell short of an apology for the false statement in the eyes of Sinclair, according to a report from Fox News.

“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” the network announced Tuesday.

Nextstar also affirmed that they will be joining Sinclair in preempting Kimmel’s show until a retraction is issued.

Jimmy Kimmel Refuses To Condemn ‘ANTI ICE’ Shooting– thefederalist.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

A day after issuing a non-apology for lying about his alleged killer’s political beliefs, late-night “comedian” Jimmy Kimmel is now refusing to condemn an attack against ICE agents.

On Wednesday, a suspected sniper opened fire on an ICE transportation vehicle in Dallas, Texas, killing two and injuring another. All of those struck in the attack were detainees, and the alleged shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to law enforcement.

While an investigation into the matter remains ongoing, early findings appear to indicate yet another instance of left-wing political violence. Hours after the shooting, FBI Director Kash Patel released an image of several unspent bullet casings seemingly belonging to the suspect, one of which is engraved with the phrase, “ANTI ICE.”

“These despicable, politically motivated attacks against law enforcement are not a one-off. We are only miles from Prarieland, Texas where just two months ago an individual ambushed a separate ICE facility targeting their officers,” Patel wrote in an accompanying statement on X. “It has to end and the FBI and our partners will lead these investigative efforts to see to it that those who target our law enforcement are pursued and brought to the fullest extent of justice.”

The incident occurred nearly two weeks after Charlie Kirk was assassinated, allegedly at the hands of a pro-trans leftist, while the former was speaking to students at a Utah-based university. During his opening monologue days after the horrific slaughter, Kimmel attempted to downplay the egregious act of political violence by suggesting the assassin was “MAGA.”

Jimmy Kimmel Likes Free Speech for Me, Not for Thee– www.dailysignal.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel got his job back with ABC but forgive me if I don’t care too much about his underwhelming, delayed apology to keep himself on air or his defense of “free speech.”

Kimmel was briefly suspended by ABC, which is owned by Disney, after he made a comment that Charlie Kirk was assassinated by somebody who was “MAGA.”

Some called this comment a “joke,” but it certainly didn’t seem like it. Though, in fairness, I can’t recall the last time Kimmel—an alleged comedian—actually said something funny. That was probably reason enough to pull the late-night comic with a laughably small audience for network television off the air.

On Tuesday, Kimmel returned and sort of apologized in his opening monologue, which was a prerequisite from ABC for him returning to his show. Kimmel never actually apologized for or addressed the comments that got him suspended. He mentioned Kirk’s killing only once, then made it about himself, saying that he “gets a lot of threats.” He also thanked some conservatives for defending him.

What if Johnny Carson mocked MLK’s death for laughs?– www.theblaze.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

What if, in 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Johnny Carson opened “The Tonight Show” with jibes about how one of King’s own supporters had pulled the trigger? What if he followed with a gag suggesting that President Lyndon Johnson didn’t care much about losing a friend? Or how maybe we need to keep up the pressure on conservatives who think free speech includes engaging those who disagree with them in civil dialogue?

Does anyone believe NBC executives would have shrugged and said, “Let Johnny talk — free speech, you know”? Does anyone think Carson’s 12 million nightly viewers would have treated it as harmless banter and tuned in the next night with curiosity about what he might say next?

Jimmy Kimmel needs to ‘grow a pair,’ take his lumps, and find another venue.

When the members of the first Congress wrote the First Amendment, enshrining freedom of speech, they did it within the context of the words of John Adams: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

St. Paul puts it this way: “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say — but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’ — but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).

Sadly, I was included in an email from a dear relative who chided anyone who did not protest Jimmy Kimmel’s firing, citing the First Amendment. My relative felt very strongly about this. In his own words, if you didn’t loudly defend Kimmel, you needed to “grow a pair.”

3 More Left-Wing Attacks Follow Charlie Kirk Murder– thefederalist.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Another day, another act of left-wing violence. Another act of left-wing violence, another media cover-up for their left-wing terrorist foot soldiers.

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the corporate media put an enormous amount of effort into a psy-op to make Americans believe the assassin was actually a Trump supporter.

While they did that, three more acts of left-wing violence took place: An attempted firebombing of a Fox News van, a shooting at an ABC News affiliate after Jimmy Kimmel’s well-deserved suspension, and, most recently, a shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas, Texas.

That is all just in a two-week timeframe, and does not take into account school shootings, other attacks on ICE, assassinations or assassination attempts, and other instances of left-wing violence Americans have seen increase dramatically for the past several years.

The media are running the same playbook for the ICE attack.

On Wednesday, an apparently left-wing, “anti-ICE” shooter tried to kill ICE agents, and the media is already churning to psy-op people into believing this person was actually on the right.

Turning Point Responds After Jimmy Kimmel Tries to Explain Himself in Return: ‘Not Good Enough’– www.westernjournal.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Turning Point USA wasn’t buying what Jimmy Kimmel was selling.

The late-night comic returned to ABC’s airwaves on Tuesday after a week’s suspension with a dishonest attempt to explain the comments that got him benched from the show after conservative organizer Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

He didn’t come close.

Turning Point’s Andrew Kolvat, spokesman for the powerhouse group Kirk founded, nailed it in a post on the social media platform X.

“Not good enough,” Kolvat wrote. “Jimmy, it’s simple. Here’s what you need to say:

“I’m sorry for saying the shooter was MAGA. He was not. He was of the left. I apologize to the Kirk family for lying. Please accept my sincere apology. I will do better. I was wrong.”

Direct, to the point, and most of all honest.

Do you buy Jimmy Kimmel’s explanation?

Kimmel’s mealymouthed explanation was none of those.

Instead, Kimmel said, “[I]t was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”

“Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions,” he said. “It was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that, to some, that felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both, and for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.”

It wasn’t his intention to blame any specific group for the actions?

Then why did he blame a specific group — specifically supporters of the Make America Great agenda?

Trump Threatens Legal Action Against ABC for Kimmel Action– www.dailysignal.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

President Donald Trump threatened ABC for letting Jimmy Kimmel resume his show after the late-night comedian falsely claimed a right-winger assassinated Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel returned to the air Tuesday night after ABC suspended him last Wednesday.

The president threatened to sue ABC for Kimmel’s support of Democrats.

“He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution,” Trump said. “I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”

On Tuesday night’s show, Kimmel did not apologize for his comments about Kirk but attempted to clarify what he meant.

“I do want to make something clear because it’s important to me as a human,” Kimmel said. “And that is, it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed, sending love to his family and asking for compassion, and I meant it, and I still do.”

Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said Kimmel’s apology was “not good enough.”

“Jimmy, it’s simple,” he said on X. “Here’s what you need to say: ‘I’m sorry for saying the shooter was MAGA. He was not. He was of the left. I apologize to the Kirk family for lying. Please accept my sincere apology. I will do better. I was wrong.’”

Jimmy Kimmel returns to late night, fails to apologize for Charlie Kirk assassination comments | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

“I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This is a sick person who believes violence is a solution, and it isn’t.”

Jimmy Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night, for the first time since his controversial remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The late-night host was suspended for nearly a week but took little time to clarify his comments, declining to offer a direct apology.

“You understand that it was never my intention to make light of a murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” Kimmel said in his opening monologue, which was cut several times by audience applause.

Kimmel had previously suggested that Tyler Robinson, the alleged killer, was tied to the MAGA movement. On Tuesday, he attempted to soften that claim. “I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This is a sick person who believes violence is a solution, and it isn’t,” he said.

Charlie Kirk’s Producer Connects Jimmy Kimmel’s Rhetoric to Dallas ICE Shooting – PJ Media– pjmedia.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

On Wednesday morning, a sniper opened fire from a rooftop overlooking the Dallas ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) facility, critically injuring three people before turning the gun on himself. Authorities later found the shooter’s body on the roof of a nearby immigration attorney’s office. Investigators revealed that “rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contained messages that are anti-ICE in nature.”

Once again, we’re staring at the ugly face of left-wing violence. And the question practically asks itself: why does this keep happening? As these attacks mount, it’s hard to ignore the role of the left-wing media, which has spent years normalizing and moralizing political violence.

On Fox News Wednesday morning, Charlie Kirk’s friend and producer Andrew Kolvet pointed directly to Jimmy Kimmel’s rhetoric as part of the problem. Kolvet demanded an apology from Kimmel, who last week falsely smeared Kirk’s killer as a “MAGA Republican” and then refused to correct the record when he returned to the air Tuesday night after a brief suspension.

“I see everything as being connected,” Kolvet explained. “This shooting at an ICE facility—yeah, we don’t know all the details yet. I made some calls before coming on with you—and I’m being told that, you know, the thought is this person was attacking ICE.” He added, “Our prayers are with anybody who was caught up in this violence.”

“When somebody like Jimmy

Breaking: Affiliates Revolt, Refuse to Bring Kimmel Back Even After ABC, Disney Unsuspend Show– www.westernjournal.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Leftist “comedian” Jimmy Kimmel received some delicious karmic payback when Sinclair Broadcast Group revealed it will not air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on its ABC affiliate stations despite Disney’s move to bring the late-night talk show back on air following his recent suspension.

Kimmel’s show was suspended on Wednesday — two days after he falsely claimed that a Trump supporter had assassinated Charlie Kirk and that conservatives were exploiting the murder to score political points.

“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 flippantly on Sept. 15.

After pushing the defamatory propaganda, Kimmel’s show was pulled off the air indefinitely.

On Monday, ABC announced the show would return on Tuesday.

“It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” the liberal network said in a statement.

“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”

However, Sinclair Broadcast Group refused to lift the suspension on its massive national platform.

“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” Sinclair wrote Monday on X.

Kimmel Reinstatement Shows Media Lied About Trump Yet Again– thefederalist.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Last week, the propaganda press assured us that self-described comedian Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off air because President Donald Trump was an authoritarian, a fascist, or tyrannical. It didn’t matter that Disney executives themselves said Kimmel was yanked because he planned to double down on false and inflammatory commentary. No, what mattered to the propaganda press was spinning the story to malign Trump.

Of course the narrative collapsed Monday when Disney announced it would bring Kimmel back on air days after he falsely stated that Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin was “MAGA.”

“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” Disney said Monday afternoon in a statement. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”

Disney itself admitted once again that pulling Kimmel off air was merely a business decision — exactly what was reported at least four days ago. It wasn’t Trump or the FCC — if it was, Disney would not be reinstating Kimmel. But that’s not what the propaganda press told us. Instead, they deliberately misled Americans so that they could distract from their own culpability in creating a hostile environment that led to Kirk’s assassination by painting Trump as the real problem and Kimmel as the real victim.

Jimmy Kimmel - Wikipedia

Jimmy Kimmel - Wikipedia

Jimmy Kimmel negotiating compromise to bring back talk show– www.nydailynews.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Jimmy Kimmel and Disney are reportedly negotiating a compromise that would allow for his talk show to return to air.

Business and legal representatives for the longtime late-night host have been in talks with the higher-ups at ABC and its parent company, Disney, with the hopes of bringing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” back to TVs nationwide, Variety reported, citing three sources with knowledge on the matter.

The show was abruptly pulled off the air on Wednesday, with executives saying it would be “preempted indefinitely” over Kimmel’s remarks about the discourse triggered by the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Since then, the 11:35 p.m. slot has been filled with reruns of “Celebrity Family Feud,” and a Charlie Kirk memorial special that aired Friday.

Kirk was shot on Sept. 10 during a student Q&A at Utah Valley University as part of his American Comeback Tour. He was hit in the neck by a lone bullet during the outdoor event on the Orem campus and was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Kirk, the co-founder of conservative organization Turning Point USA and a major President Trump ally, was 31 years old.

Trump presses Bondi to take legal action against his foes– thehill.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

 

President Trump in a Truth Social post on Saturday demanded that Attorney General Pam Bondi take action against his foes, saying there could be no delay.

In the post, Trump listed Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), New York Attorney General Letitia James, and former FBI Director James Comey while complaining that “nothing is being done.”

“They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,” Trump wrote.

He concluded the post by saying that “we can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility” and complaining that “they impeached me twice” and indicted me five times.

Asked about the post a shot time later as he left the White House for an event, Trump added “they have to act. We want to act fast.”

“You know, they were ruthless and vicious,” he added, again mentioning the two impeachment and multiple indictments.

“If they are guilty or if they should be judged, they should be judged and we have to do it now,” he said.

Trump’s remarks pressuring the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take legal actions against those he sees as his political foes is a sharp shift from traditional boundaries meant to prevent DOJ from becoming a legal, political arm of the president.

The comments underscore Trump’s frustrations in his second term with his long-time critics, and comes as the administration has signaled it has an interest in silencing voices with which it disagrees.

ABC indefinitely suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel days ago after pressure from the chair of the Federal Communications Commission ,and the Trump administration has signaled a crackdown on liberal groups with which it disagrees.

Was Kirk ‘Divisive’—or Did He Simply Say What Millions Believe? › American Greatness– amgreatness.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is exercised that Charlie Kirk once said that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was “a mistake.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson sees AOC’s charge and raises it: “The fact is,” he said in an official statement, “Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric was divisive, disparaging, and too often rooted in grievance. The beliefs he evangelized normalized fringe views on race, sex, and immigration. Unfortunately, his rhetoric resurrected dangerous prejudices of a dark past.”

Gosh. Here’s a question, Congressman. What sort of grievance would someone have to entertain in order to be moved to describe someone who simply sought to engage young people in conversation as “divisive” and “disparaging?” Follow-up question: Did Charlie Kirk try to “normalize” fringe ideas about “race, sex, and immigration?” Or were the ideas he espoused, in fact (you see that two people can deploy the “in fact™” gambit), perfectly normal ideas that reflected the beliefs of millions of Americans, even if those ideas departed from the Washington consensus?

As for the Civil Rights Act, Charlie Kirk did say its expansion was “a huge mistake.” Here’s the context. A student asked Charlie whether he wanted to get rid of the Civil Rights Act. He replied that he thought we should have a one-page bill that outlawed racial discrimination and left it at that. Most Americans, he went on to note, don’t support forcing women’s sports teams to allow men pretending to be women to compete. But the Civil Rights Act has been interpreted to say just that.

‘President Trump had no idea’: Karoline Leavitt denies White House role in ABC shelving Jimmy Kimmel; blasts Barack Obama– timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that the administration had any role in ABC’s indefinite shelving of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following the host’s monologue on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. She also criticized former President Barack Obama for alleging that the Donald Trump administration “threatens” news organisations critical of the US president.“I can assure you it did not come from the White House and there was no pressure given from the president of the United States. How do I know that? Because I was with the president when this news broke in the United Kingdom,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital.She added that Trump was “unaware” of the decision, which she said was made solely by ABC because Kimmel, a vocal Trump critic, “chose to knowingly lie to his audience” about Kirk’s death during a period of national mourning. Leavitt also echoed Trump’s remarks that the show was taken off air due to poor ratings, which she described as “gutter”.Turning to Obama, Leavitt said, “With all due respect, he has no idea what he is talking about. The decision to fire Jimmy Kimmel and to cancel his show came from executives at ABC. That has now been reported.” Obama had criticised the current administration on X, writing that it “has taken cancel culture 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.”Kirk, a Trump ally, was shot and killed on September 10 at a university campus in Utah. Kimmel addressed the assassination five days later, criticising Trump supporters for “characterising that the killer (Tyler Robinson) is not one of their own.”Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr, appointed by Trump earlier this year, had warned of “consequences” for stations that continued to air Kimmel’s programme. ABC’s decision to shelve the show has sparked widespread discussion and controversy.

Why conservatives hate free speech– www.dailykos.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

The conservative movement has spent the days following the shocking murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk attacking a bedrock American value: free speech.

In the most high-profile incident, the Federal Communications Commission pressured ABC parent The Walt Disney Company to sideline talk show host Jimmy Kimmel after he made a joke mocking President Donald Trump’s response to Kirk’s death. This followed CBS canceling “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” shortly after the network paid a $16 million settlement to President Donald Trump over how “60 Minutes” edited an interview with Kamala Harris.

Vice President JD Vance and senior White House aide Stephen Miller have argued that a crackdown on left-of-center groups is necessary to stop people from telling the truth about what a bigot and conspiracy theorist Kirk was.

And Fox News, the Republican Party’s de facto media arm, has joined the anti-First Amendment crusade as well.

“For all the concern about the ‘the First Amendment, the First Amendment,’ what about all the amendments that Charlie Kirk lost? Because Charlie Kirk has no amendments right now. None,” said Fox pundit and former Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, exhibiting her lack of knowledge of the U.S. Constitution that has served her so well for years.

Media’s Appeal To ‘Free Speech’ Over Jimmy Kimmel Is Fake– thefederalist.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Panel after panel Wednesday night on CNN pretended to have a debate over “free speech,” with every anchor and Democrat talking head asking whichever present right-winger or Republican guest why the principle didn’t apply to ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel. Yeah, going forward, they can miss me with the “free speech” and other appeals to American principles that I and everyone else know they only fake concern for when their money and power are threatened.

ABC announced Wednesday evening it was yanking Kimmel’s late-night talk therapy sessions — known by some as Jimmy Kimmel Live! — for an indefinite period from the airwaves. That move came after Kimmel delivered what he intended to be a comedic monologue centered on the public execution of Charlie Kirk, an innocent man, less than a week prior. It also came after, as Democrats on CNN hysterically repeated over and over, the Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said on a podcast in relation to that monologue that TV stations relying on broadcast licenses should recommit themselves to the public interest, as required by existing law, or otherwise potentially face government action.

Because Carr, a Trump appointee, suggested his agencies might do their job and ensure compliance with public broadcasting rules, Democrats are calling the Kimmel suspension a violation of the First Amendment. There’s no reason to take them seriously for it. That party has done nothing in the past five years to hint it cares about the Bill of Rights or any other American ideal. They don’t. It’s the opposite.

Post-Kimmel, Dems could change the cancel culture narrative– www.politico.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Democrats opened investigations, filed motions to subpoena and demanded the resignation of the Federal Communications Commission chair Thursday — a response to the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that represented unusually swift pushback from a party struggling to find its footing.

But it’s not clear how Democrats will translate this relatively united front into an electoral strategy, as the party remains divided over how and how much to talk about threats to democracy ahead of next year’s pivotal midterm elections.

That tension began playing out in their descriptions of Kimmel’s suspension, as some Democrats urged their party to retool its messaging.

At a press conference on Capitol Hill to announce legislation to protect free speech, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) attacked President Donald Trump for “trying to destroy our democracy” and acting like “many would-be despots.” Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) cautioned “fascism is not on the way, it is here.” But Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who is running for the U.S. Senate in a high-profile primary, warned that language may be “too abstract for people” and urged Democrats to “distill it down to something people get in their everyday life.”

“This is what we saw in 2024: When you talk about ‘fascism’ and ‘democracy’ and ‘oligarchy,’ it’s too big a concept,” McMorrow said. “People are so overwhelmed and when it’s too big, people just wonder, ‘well, what can I possibly do about it?’”

Here’s Another Big Thing That May Have Factored Into the Kimmel Suspension – RedState– redstate.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Jimmy Kimmel has said disgraceful things over the years on his show. But he finally appears to have stepped into it big time with his comments about the accused killer of Charlie Kirk, implying he is MAGA.

ABC affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair found that offensive. ABC decided to suspend his show. Sinclair is demanding that Kimmel apologize before they consider lifting any suspension. They want ABC to take more action on professionalism and accountability.

But there’s another problem that may have factored into the network’s calculus: the program’s plummeting ratings. Ultimately, it’s always about the money.

Nielsen data showed sharp summer declines and a year-long slide that leaves him trailing late-night rivals such as Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld and CBS star Stephen Colbert.

According to monthly Nielsen figures, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” dropped to just 1.1 million total viewers in August 2025, down 43% from January’s 1.95 million. His August household rating of 0.35 marked the weakest showing of the year.

The advertiser-coveted 18–49 demo also cratered. Kimmel averaged only 129,000 viewers in that bracket in August, off from 212,000 in January and less than half his June peak of 284,000.