This is an adapted excerpt from the Sept. 18 episode of “Deadline: White House.”
On Wednesday, ABC announced that it was pulling Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show off the air “indefinitely” over comments the comedian made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The announcement came shortly after Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, threatened to “take action” against the network over Kimmel’s remarks, floating the possibility of revoking ABC affiliates’ licenses as punishment.
Wednesday’s decision shows there’s definitely at least one thing Trump and these corporate executives have in common: cowardice.
The president wouldn’t be attacking the media if he were as confident or as popular as he tries to pretend he is. Just like he wouldn’t be redrawing the lines of congressional districts if he confidently thought his party could win the next election. This is just another desperate move from a desperate man trying to cling to power and quiet any possible criticism or dissent.
It took ABC executives only a few hours to bend the knee to the administration. They did not have to capitulate. When Trump has tried to threaten others over bogus facts and bogus laws, they’ve taken him to court — and in most cases, they’ve won.
The idea that these executives are trying to rationalize giving up freedom of speech in this country as a “business decision” because they don’t want to fight Trump in court is just corporate cowardice. That’s all it is.
Frankly, it’s like these executives aren’t reading the same polls that the rest of America is reading. Most Americans see what Trump is doing, and they don’t want to follow him off a cliff. They don’t want to lose the very essence of American democracy.
Do these corporate executives not see that? And do they not realize they’re losing more customers than they’re gaining by surrendering to Trump?
This country craves two things: honesty and bravery. And right now, there’s not a lot of either of those on display.