The plug has been pulled on another Trump-critical late-night host, and the president is over the moon.
“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” Donald Trump posted to Truth Social Wednesday. “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,” he continued, referring to Stephen Colbert, who had his show on CBS canceled in July.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was put on indefinite hiatus Wednesday by Nexstar, one of the largest owners of ABC stations in the country. Nexstar said it “strongly” objected “to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk,” according to a statement.
Kimmel was excoriated by Republicans after he suggested earlier this week that Kirk’s suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, was a MAGA conservative.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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,” Kimmel said during a monologue.
But emerging details have painted a more complicated picture of the 22-year-old Utahn, who according to his friends was relatively apolitical.
The move to deplatform Kimmel immediately followed a threat from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who condemned Kimmel’s language as the “sickest conduct possible.”
“[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 told YouTuber Benny Johnson. “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.”
Carr was celebrating the decision hours later. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the FCC chair thanked Nexstar for “doing the right thing” and implored other broadcasters to “follow Nexstar’s lead.”
Trump was, apparently, in a similar headspace. On Truth Social, the president made it clear that his ideal version of a late-night lineup involves nixing two other NBC hosts who have been hard on his administration. Addressing the network directly, Trump urged NBC to fire two of its stars: Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.
“That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC,” Trump wrote. “Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.”
But Nexstar’s opposition to Kimmel’s monologue might not be entirely moralistic. The massive broadcast network is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion deal to buy Tegna, an acquisition that would make Nexstar the biggest owner of local stations in the country.
The pattern is remarkably similar to the circumstances surrounding Colbert’s ended contract. Colbert’s show—the most popular show in its time slot—was canceled three days after the comedian claimed that Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump over his groundless lawsuit targeting Kamala Harris’s 60 Minutes interview looked like a “big, fat bribe.” Days after the cancellation was announced, the FCC approved Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance.
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