Donald Trump has celebrated with some strong words about American TV host Jimmy Kimmel after he was taken off air in the wake of his Charlie Kirk comments.
The US president has never been a fan of the 57-year-old comedian, branding him and Jimmy Fallon 'talentless' earlier this year, and it seems as if the feeling is mutual, given that Kimmel also sought out Italian citizenship after Trump returned to the Oval Office.
Despite previously positioning themselves as the party of free speech, Trump's Republican party has cracked down on several members of the media in recent days, as people shared their opinions on Kirk after he was fatally shot last week.
Kimmel made two separate comments about Kirk's alleged shooter Tyler Robinson, who could face the death penalty if found guilty of the aggravated murder he has been charged with.
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“The MAGA Gang [is] desperately trying to characterise 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.
On his Tuesday programme, comedian also said that 'many in MAGA-land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk'.
However, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show was suspended by ABC just hours after Kimmel's comments drew heat from Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr.
“[This] appears to be an action by Jimmy Kimmel to play into the narrative that this was somehow a MAGA or Republican-motivated person,” Carr said on a podcast. “What people don’t understand is that the broadcasters … have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest. When we see stuff like this, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
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And Carr followed through on his words, as Kimmel's Wednesday evening show was cancelled, but it seems as if the president is over the moon with the news.
Despite being in the UK for his historic second state visit, the 79-year-old took to Truth Social at 1am to share his opinion on the decision.
He wrote: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT."
Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, explained the decision, saying: “Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.
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"Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”
LADbible group has contacted Jimmy Kimmel's representatives for comment.
Topics: Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, Jimmy Kimmel, US News, Celebrity News
James Moorhouse