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Former late-night host David Letterman responded to ABC taking comedian Jimmy Kimmel off the air<\/a> on Wednesday night, hammering President Trump\u2019s administration for purportedly creating \u201cmanaged media.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then my good friend Jimmy Kimmel. I just, I feel bad about this because we all see where this is going, correct? It\u2019s managed media and it\u2019s no good. It\u2019s silly; it\u2019s ridiculous; and you can\u2019t go around firing somebody because you\u2019re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office. That\u2019s just not how this works,\u201d Letterman said Thursday while at The Atlantic Festival in New York City.<\/p>\n ABC suspended Kimmel\u2019s show \u201cindefinitely\u201d over comments he made about last week\u2019s killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n On Monday, Kimmel said the U.S. \u201chit some new lows over the weekend,\u201d when the \u201cMAGA gang desperately tried to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n The late-night host then accused conservative Republicans of attempting to \u201cscore political points\u201d from Kirk\u2019s killing in Utah last Wednesday.<\/p>\n ABC\u2019s decision came after Nexstar Media Group said its affiliate stations would preempt \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live\u201d starting Wednesday evening because of Kimmel\u2019s remarks about Kirk. Nexstar Media Group owns The Hill, along with NewsNation and CW.<\/p>\n President Trump celebrated the decision<\/a> by ABC. Democrats slammed the decision<\/a>, with some calling on Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr to resign, accusing him of \u201ccorrupt abuse of power.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, this is misery and in the world of somebody who is an authoritarian \u2014 maybe a dictatorship \u2014 sooner or later, everyone is going to be touched. But this is me. For 30 years, I did this for a living. So, I see this happen,\u201d Letterman told The Atlantic\u2019s top editor Jeffrey Goldberg.<\/p>\n \u201cThey took care of Colbert. That was rude. That was inexcusable. The man deserved a great deal of credit. He\u2019s in the Hall of Fame nine times! And to be manipulated like that because the Ellison family didn\u2019t want to trouble Donald Trump with this move, so they got rid of him \u2014 not only got rid of him, got rid of the whole franchise,\u201d Letterman added, referring to CBS\u2019s decision<\/a> to cancel \u201cThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re not going to have to worry about anything, Larry [Ellison]. It\u2019s all gone! It\u2019s fine. Good night.\u201d<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/i><\/p>\n