President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday reportedly cheered ABC’s decision to suspend late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel following a firestorm over the entertainer’s remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Calling the development “Great News for America,” Mr. Trump celebrated the network’s move as overdue accountability for a comedian he has long derided as untalented and partisan. “The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” the president declared on Truth Social. “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.”
The suspension came after Mr. Kimmel, during his Monday night monologue, mocked conservatives for their response to Kirk’s killing, accusing them of trying to score “political points” from the tragedy.
He went further, ridiculing Mr. Trump’s grief by quipping that the president mourned Kirk “like a 4-year-old mourns the death of a goldfish.”
Those remarks prompted swift and broad condemnation. Brendan Carr, Mr. Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chairman, denounced Kimmel’s words, while Nexstar Media Group — the country’s largest provider of local news, which also owns The Hill — joined in rebuking the late-night host.
Even the White House rapid response team weighed in, applauding ABC’s decision and writing on social media: “Jimmy is a sick freak!”
For years, Mr. Kimmel has used his platform to deride Mr. Trump and his allies, often positioning himself as a progressive voice in late-night television.
But conservatives have argued that his brand of humor has devolved into little more than partisan vitriol. The suspension, for many on the right, represents a rare acknowledgment by a major entertainment network that its stars must answer for inflammatory rhetoric directed at conservatives.
Mr. Trump has frequently clashed with late-night hosts, whose monologues often serve as nightly broadsides against him.
In his Truth Social post Wednesday, the president expanded his critique beyond Kimmel, taking aim at NBC’s late-night lineup as well. “Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers” are “two total losers, on Fake News NBC,” he wrote. “Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”
The president’s public campaign against the late-night industry gained traction this summer when he predicted that more critics would follow Stephen Colbert off the air, after Paramount announced The Late Show would end.
At the time, Mr. Trump pointed to Mr. Kimmel as someone who could be “next” to face cancellation.
For Trump allies, Kimmel’s suspension now vindicates those warnings. The episode underscores the degree to which late-night television, once defined by broad-appeal entertainment, has become a battlefield of partisan politics — and how Mr. Trump has increasingly shaped the terms of that conflict.
Whether ABC’s move marks a temporary suspension or a permanent cancellation remains unclear. But for Mr. Trump, the network’s action amounted to a cultural victory. “Great News for America,” he wrote, as conservatives celebrated a rare moment of accountability in a media landscape they view as overwhelmingly hostile.
[READ MORE: Rubio Moves to Revoke Visas for Foreigners Who Celebrated Charlie Kirk Assassination]
