By Michael Tanenbaum

Copyright phillyvoice

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro took aim at the Trump administration on Friday in the wake of ABC’s suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, saying the president is using the power of the federal government to stifle dissent.

Shapiro was interviewed on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Friday to talk about the fallout of Kimmel’s suspension, which President Donald Trump has praised in the days since.

MORE: Jake Tapper says Trump administration violated First Amendment by pressuring ABC to suspend ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

“Fear. Just worry for our country,” Shapiro said. “Our foundational principle in this country … is about freedom of expression, freedom of speech. And to see that being undermined by the long arm of the federal government is extremely dangerous.”

On Monday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” the comedian remarked in his monologue that the president and his supporters were using the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to “score political points.” Here is the portion of what Kimmel said that has been the focus of the controversy:

“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. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.

Early Wednesday afternoon, Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chairman, appeared on a conservative podcast and urged local stations to “take action” and say their stations would not air Kimmel’s show. He also said, “… We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or you know there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Later Wednesday, Nextar, a company that own 63 ABC affiliates, decided to replace Kimmel’s show with other programing on their stations. Nexstar is seeking the FCC’s approval for a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna, which would create the largest local media company in the United States. Very shortly after that, ABC, which is owned by Disney, announced Kimmel’s show had been suspended indefinitely.

Disney has it’s own broadcasting deals pending that are contingent on approvals from the federal government: In August, the the NFL reached a deal for ESPN, which is owned by Disney, to acquire the NFL Network in exchange for the NFL getting a 10% equity stake in ESPN. Disney also is looking to take control of streamer FuboTV, a deal that has prompted a antitrust probe.

After the network suspended the show, Sinclair, a company that owns 31 ABC affiliates, announced it would pre-empt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

On “Meet the Press,” Shapiro said Kimmel’s commentary may have been “inartful,” but argued it did not warrant him being silenced.

“They’re trying to stifle dissent,” the Democratic governor said.

In a different interview this week, Shapiro called Trump “hypocritical” for his efforts to snuff out critics.

“He represents a party that for decades has cloaked itself in the blanket of freedom and claimed that they were for free speech – said they were going to stand up for First Amendment rights and that they were being silenced,” Shapiro said. “And now look at what they’re doing.”

Some legal experts have said Carr’s stance at the FCC could invite scrutiny from courts over the agency stretching its regulatory authority too far into programming, particularly through the use of threats.

Kimmel is said to have met with ABC executives on Thursday but did not come to an agreement about returning to the network. The host reportedly has refused to accept a demand from Sinclair that he apologize for his remarks and make a donation to Turning Point USA, the conservative organization co-founded by Kirk.

One unnamed “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” staffer told journalist Rick Ellis, who writes the “Too Much TV” Substack, that he “can’t imagine a scenario” in which the host returns to ABC.

“Even if Jimmy was willing to publicly apologize and donate money to whatever ghoulish conservative group that is demanding it … MAGA people will never be happy,” the staffer said. “It will never be enough. And Disney will look at the situation and decide it’s cheaper to buy out the rest of his contract and replace the show with reruns of ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Judge Judy.’”