In a move sure to have ripple effects in the days to come, ABC has taken Jimmy Kimmel off the air, following intense pressure from the Trump administration to drop the late-night comedian over comments related to Charlie Kirk.
MSNBC’s
and I were LIVE (video above) when the news broke about comments from Trump’s broadcast watchdog, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who threatened to take action to suspend Kimmel if ABC did not. Shortly after we ended our Substack LIVE, the decision came down from ABC.The move is an extraordinary act of capitulation on the part of the network — and follows similar circumstances at CBS, where late-night host Stephen Colbert saw his program cancelled amidst intense scrutiny from the Trump administration.
As Jonathan and I discussed, the administration’s free-speech crackdown is still in its earliest innings — with seismic impacts for the U.S. Constitution ahead. Indeed, this week, the Trump administration has started to send signal about a wider plan to brand the political opposition as “terrorists.” In our conversation (you can watch above), I dove into what that might mean specifically for ordinary Americans.
But tomorrow, we’ll all be talking about how Donald Trump and his henchmen are going after satire. It reminded me of a Jon Stewart quote from a few years ago.
“Comedy doesn’t change the world, but it’s a bellwether,” he warned. “When a society feels under threat, comedians are who gets sent away first.”
He was right. And now they are.
(Thank you
, , , , , and many others for tuning in.)P.S. WHAT’S HAPPENING ON TREASON
Don’t miss the other upcoming Substack LIVE events this week:
ONE: Tomorrow / Thursday (4pmET) - A special conversation on CENSORSHIP with former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn - How timely. I’ll be joined on Substack LIVE by Harry, and we’ll talk about the Censorship War being waged by the Trump administration. You can join here.
TWO: Friday (4pmET) - War Department unleashed? - I’ll be joined on Substack LIVE by former CNN correspondent Barbara Starr to discuss how the Pentagon is being turned against Americans. You can join here.
