Warning: This article comments on sensitive topics including murder.
In September, the late night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was pulled off the air due to a possibly insensitive comment about the killer of late Republican activist and MAGA supporter, Charlie Kirk. Kimmel’s removal was an obvious overreach of executive influence on the behalf of President Trump.
One of the main points Trump and his followers made against Kimmel was his prediction of the political stance of Kirk’s killer.
“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,” Jimmy Kimmel, the comedian and host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! said.
Kimmel had joked that it was probably someone on the far right, which ended up not being entirely true. Tyler Robinson, the suspected murderer of Charlie Kirk, is registered as unaffiliated with any political party, but was raised in a far-right household.
After this monologue, Kimmel and his show were suspended. President Donald Trump applauded the FCC’s decision to put the show on hiatus and said that the other late night shows that criticize Trump should meet the same fate.
Comedians are usually given grace when it comes to joking about politically sensitive topics in the name of comedy. At times these jokes can be poorly timed and questionable. However, that doesn’t excuse Trump’s belief that all comedians should refrain from verbalizing their opinions of him.
“When you have a network, and you have evening shows, all they do is hit Trump […] They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that,” Trump said.
In response to Kimmel’s removal, Trump said that it was the right move, and that Kimmel had dishonored Charlie Kirk. However, Trump claims the real reason Kimmel was pulled off the air was due to his poor performance.
“He had very bad ratings and they should have fired him a long time ago. So, you know, you can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent,” Trump said.
In actuality, Kimmel’s returning episode was the second most watched in the show’s history, with 6.3 million viewers.
Trump’s excuse for Kimmel’s firing poorly covers up a more accurate explanation: Kimmel made comments that criticized the president and the MAGA party. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is not a registered news outlet; it is an openly opinionated and comedic show that tends to lean left.
Fox News, which is no longer a registered news outlet, doesn’t try to hide their sway towards more conservative ideas and are regularly opinionated by mainly interviewing Republicans and presenting news with traditional views in mind.
Kimmel isn’t the first host to be taken off air for a joke.
In 1960, Tonight Show host, Jack Paar, was taken off air after saying an unsavory comment about bathrooms that angered his employers. When the public said that his removal was unjustified, his show was reinstated. Paar’s entering line when he returned?
“As I was saying, before I was interrupted….”
Kimmel was reinstated, and he entered with the same line to emphasize his wrongful termination. He said that his show being taken off air undermines the First Amendment: the people’s right to practice religion, petition the government, and, most importantly, speak freely.
There are three branches of the United States government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The media considers themselves a fourth, unwritten branch that extends the voice of the people and keeps the American populace informed of advancements and shortcomings of the other branches.
The media is both the people’s voice and informant. When they are silenced, people’s overall understanding of a situation is limited and leads to a more polarized view of the country.
This political divide has further separated people and parties by suppressing opposing ideas. An event like Kimmel’s suspension, which lasted less than a week, left rippling controversy.
Some people believe it was a gross overreach of executive influence for Trump to pressure the FCC to fire Kimmel, but don’t think it necessarily contradicted the First Amendment due to Kimmel’s opinion not being silenced, merely his job taken away.
But we believe that there was obvious pressure applied by President Trump to remove Kimmel, as they have had an ongoing feud about Trump’s hatred towards the Democratic party.
Kimmel’s firing made his supporters uneasy because of both their affection for the host, and Trump implying that journalism should not have as much freedom to criticize people in power.
Trump’s belief that the media should be limited to only speaking things that he agrees with directly contradicts free speech, and therefore Kimmel’s removal should fall under that umbrella.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/30/fcc-brendan-carr-jimmy-kimmel-networks
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/01/media/jimmy-kimmel-stephen-colbert
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/12/us/tyler-robinson-charlie-kirk-shooting-suspect-invs