ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s show. The move followed threats from President Trump’s FCC chair, Brendan Carr. Trump supporters cheered the decision, even though many of them used to rail against “cancel culture” and complain that liberals were trying to silence them. Once again, the projection is obvious.
The supposed trigger was Kimmel allegedly calling Charlie Kirk’s killer a MAGA supporter. That’s not what he said. Here’s the line from his monologue:
“The MAGA gang [is] 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.”
That’s what set them off. And that’s exactly what MAGA world has been doing.
The truth is, we still don’t know the shooter’s motive. All we have are secondhand claims from his mother, repeated until they hardened into the media’s default storyline. We haven’t heard directly from the shooter or his alleged roommate. Some texts attributed to him exist, but they read like they were written for effect. In short, we don’t yet know his motive.
Back to Kimmel.
Normally, when a network silences one of its stars, the defense is simple: yes, the host has free speech, but the company can still pull the plug. That’s true. But this case is different. ABC acted after direct government pressure from Trump’s FCC chair. That makes it a First Amendment issue. The government has no right to restrict speech.
Kimmel broke no FCC rule. He didn’t mock Kirk’s death. He condemned it. He didn’t use obscene language. He did nothing that even remotely violates broadcast standards. His suspension was purely political.
That means Kimmel’s rights were violated. And that would be true even if he were a Fox News host or a MAGA loyalist.
So why didn’t Disney and ABC stand up for him? The same reason companies always fold: money. Nexstar, which is chasing a merger that needs federal approval, announced its stations wouldn’t carry Kimmel’s show. That financial threat was enough. Faced with the choice between defending free speech and protecting profits, Disney chose profits. Trump’s team knows this dynamic well, and that’s why it’s winning.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. On Inauguration Day, Trump promised:
“I will also sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America.”
Yet some speech is clearly freer than others. No consequences for media figures who mocked the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi. No consequences for those spreading conspiracy theories about the murder of Melissa Hortman and her husband. No consequences for a Fox host who casually called for killing homeless people and then waited four days before apologizing.
The chill isn’t just in the air anymore. It’s settling in. And it may already be permanent.