President Donald Trump threatened ABC as late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returned to the stage on Tuesday night.
Kimmel did not hold back in his first monologue following his week-long suspension from the network. He talked about the backlash to his comments on the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, saying it was never his “intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”
He also lashed out at the Trump administration for trying to interfere with the freedom of speech.
“They want to pick and choose what the news is,” Kimmel said of the government. “I know that’s not as interesting as muzzling a comedian, but it’s so important to have a free press and it is nuts that we aren’t paying more attention to it.”
Many pundits argued that Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr pressured ABC to take Kimmel off the air last week. Many Democrats, as well as conservatives, criticized Carr for using the power of government to threaten a media organization.
Many of Trump’s allies argued that ABC decided to take Kimmel off the air due to a business decision, not due to pressure from the FCC.
However, Trump’s Truth Social post about Kimmel suggested that his administration did have some influence over his brief suspension.
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE,” Trump said Tuesday on Truth Social.
Trump went on to threaten ABC with another lawsuit. Last year, ABC agreed to a $16 million settlement with Trump over comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos about author E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit brought against him.
“He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. 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,” Trump said.
Many social media users criticized Trump for his Truth Social post.
“This f—ing idiot just admitted the government was involved with the firing of Jimmy Kimmel. This man is a supreme dumba–,” progressive commentator Alex Cole wrote on X.
Former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (D-Mich.) said that Trump “just torpedoed every White House surrogate who claimed the administration wasn’t attempting to coerce Disney/ABC.”
One user suggested that Trump undermined Republicans’ defense of Kimmel’s suspension.
“REPUBLICANS: Trump wasn’t involved in Kimmel getting cancelled. TRUMP: I was involved and I’m gonna try again,” the user wrote.
Jon Favreau, co-host of “Pod Save America,” summarized the series of events around Kimmel’s suspension from ABC:
Carr last week said it appeared that Kimmel was trying to “directly mislead the American public” with his remarks about Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah man charged with Kirk’s killing, and his motives. Those motives remain unclear. Authorities say Robinson grew up in a conservative family, but his mother told investigators his son had turned left politically in the last year.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said before ABC announced the suspension. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Those remarks were key to the backlash, with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) saying that Carr acted like “a mafioso.” Hundreds of entertainment luminaries, including Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand and Jennifer Aniston, signed a letter circulated by the American Civil Liberties Union that called ABC’s move “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.