Free speech advocates worry about what will be considered an increasingly hostile environment for the first amendment after the ABC pulls the late-night show out of the air.
Trump is working on freedom of speech and the firing of Jimmy Kimmel
President Donald Trump was asked about freedom of speech and the firing of Jimmy Kimmel at a press conference in the UK
- ABC has drawn Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show over the comments the host made about the suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
- The decision came shortly after FCC Chairman Brendan Kerr’s threat to the ABC.
- President Donald Trump then suggested that the station lose the FCC license with coverage critical of him.
- All this led to growing concern from First Amendment advocates.
The ABC pulled out a late-night show of comedian Jimmy Kimmel following the veiled threat from the Federal Communications Commission, and now President Donald Trump has called on the FCC to revoke the station’s broadcast license that criticizes him.
Both moves mark an escalation by government officials that have curbed freedom of speech since the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the first amendment advocate warns.
Before Trump’s remarks on September 18th, free speech advocates had already criticised Kimmel’s suspension, particularly the role of FCC Chairman Brendan Kerr. ABC announced Kimmel’s “undefined” halt hours after Kerr called out that on a right-wing podcast.
“It is a very clear example for the public of government pressure on private speakers to suppress speech,” said Adam Steinbow, a lawyer at the Foundation for Personal Rights and Expression., We mentioned Carr’s comment that ABC “can do it in an easy or difficult way.”
Steinbaugh said, “At every level of government, officials set up bad examples and send a message to the public that if they don’t like what someone says, they’re there to make sure they’re faced with consequences.”
Trump defended Carr’s statement and went further when he was asked about them by reporters.
“They’re against 97% – they only give me bad publicity and news outlets,” Trump claimed about his coverage on television networks while on board the Air Force 1. “I mean, they have a license. I think they should probably remove their license. That’s up to Brendan Kerr.”
Three days ago, Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, said they would “stoke” left-leaning organisations that the administration said had incited violence.
These threats, police for negative speeches about Kirk Online, and US Attorney General Pam Bondi on hate speech indictments all contributed to the environment that Steinbow said was not “healthy” for the first revision.
Kimmel is on fire after comments from the FCC Commissioner
Kimmel’s suspension comes after Carr was asked by right-wing political commentator Benny Johnson about the comedian’s monologue.
Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend along with the Maga gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who is doing everything he can to kill Charlie Kirk as something other than them and score political points from there.”
Johnson denounced the statement as an attempt to justify the violence and blame Kirk on his death.
Carr replied that the station “has a license granted by us at the FCC, so it is an obligation to operate it in the public interest.”
He continued. “We can do this in a simple or difficult way. These companies can honestly find ways to change their behavior in Kimmel to take action, or there will be additional work beyond the FCC.”
The statement appeared to contradict Carr’s previous comments. In 2019, he wrote on social media:
The FCC regulates radio and broadcasting stations nationwide. National television networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX are not licensed by the FCC. Instead, the FCC issues a license to individual local broadcasting affiliates that allow stations to use public radio waves.
Within hours of Carr’s comments, Nexstar Media Group Inc., which operates 32 ABC affiliates, announced that it would stop airing Kimmel’s show. “Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death are offensive and insensitive at a critical period in our nation’s political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, of the Nexuster broadcasting division.
Nexstar is seeking FCC approval to acquire broadcasting company Tegna. Approval requires lifting station ownership restrictions that prohibit broadcasters from reaching more than 39% of national audiences.
Nexstar claimed it had paused the show over pressure from the Fed.
Following on from the suit, ABC announced the “indefinite” suspension of Kimmel and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
In a statement on CNBC’s Scoke on the streets on Thursday, Kerr said he expects to see “more shifts” in the “media ecosystem.”
“We’re not finished yet,” he said.
This is not the first time that ABC has landed on the Trump administration’s crosshairs.
The network paid nearly $15 million after a December settlement after Trump sued for defamation.
A day before Kimmel’s suspension, when ABC reporter John Carl asked Trump about Bondi’s comments regarding hate speech, Trump said, “I’m probably going to chase people like you because you’re treating me unfairly.”
“It’s hatred. You have a lot of hatred in your heart,” he said.
The settlement rather than addressed hate speech, but rather a loss of honor and amendment after lawmakers asked why they supported Trump, despite the 2023 civil lawsuit being determined to be “liable for rape.”
In that Manhattan case, Trump was found to be responsible for “sexual abuse” rather than rape.
“Controlling lawmakers will put heavier thumbs on scale.”
First Amendment experts say crackdowns by government members on freedom of speech pose serious and direct risks to the public.
Steinbow and Eugene Voloff, amendment scholars and law professors at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, pointed to the role of the FCC in misrepresentation of hate speech that Bondy is not legally protected and Kimmel’s suspension.
“It’s not good when the US Attorney General makes legal analysis inaccurate to the public,” Volokh said.
Bondy later revealed that the Justice Department would target hate speech that leads to violence.
Steinbaug also said he lost the number of U.S. senators seeking to fire civil servants.
“It’s one thing for the public members to call people to be fired or punished for what they say. It may be censorship, but it’s part of the political dialogue,” Steinbow said. “The involvement of lawmakers evokes the power of government as well as the power of social persuasion and pressure, so they paint heavier thumbs on scale.”
Steinbaugh and Volokh said the kind of government pressure also came under the Biden administration, hoping social media companies would remove comments related to Covid-19.
Steinbow said he was “trying to “silence more speeches” from Kirk’s assassination, and how quickly the nation moved, about how much Trump administration officials were involved in such efforts.
“It really gives them the look they’re trying to restrain their protected speech and they’re intentionally doing so,” Steinbow said.
“The Republicans are not going to hold administrative agencies forever, and you can really see federal (and future) Democrat office holders doing the exact same thing,” he said.
Money Lecture: Comedians face pressure as business mergers loom
Kimmel’s cancellation follows a similar pattern in which late-night show hosts are being scrutinized, amid the network’s high-priced deals.
Earlier this year, “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was given a May 2026 ending date after CBS announced plans to cancel the show.
The announcement comes days after CBS’ parent company Paramount reached a multi-million-dollar settlement with Trump. The company was also seeking FCC approval for a major merger with SkyDance, which was approved a week after Colbert’s cancellation announcement.
ABC is in a similar situation. Nexstar Media Group, one of the nation’s largest local television operators, is near the end of a $6.2 billion merger with another media company, Tegna. Transactions require FCC approval.
Nexstar operates numerous ABC affiliate stations in markets nationwide. The merger has raised exclusive concerns, as the deal could increase local television ownership to more than 39% of US households.
After ABC paused Kimmel’s show, Sinclair Broadcasting Group also weighed it, saying it would replace the time slots on the September 19 comedy show with a homage “in Charlie Kirk’s memory.”
The special will be aired at all Sinclair stations and will be offered to ABC affiliates nationwide.
Sinclair vice-chairman Jason Smith said the company “evaluates” Carr’s statement, “emphasizing that the FCC will take immediate regulatory measures to address controls held by a large national network through local broadcasters.”
Smith said Sinclar would not bring Kimmel back to the channel until a formal discussion with ABC, and even asked Kimmel to make a “meaning” personal donation to the Kirk family and TPUSA.
Taylor Seely is a First Amendment reporter for the Republic of Arizona/azcentral.com. Angele Latham is an amendment reporter for Tennessee, Nashville.
Reports on the First Amendment issue of the USA Today Network are funded through collaboration with the Freedom Forum and Journalism fundraising partners. Funders do not provide editor input.
