Let’s get a clear look at what just happened: Jimmy Kimmel is a famous late-night comedian who was cancelled because the Trump administration didn’t like what he said and threatened his employer until they shut him down.
It seems that the Trump administration has learned to effectively weaponize the federal government’s regulatory power to punish the speech of people who don’t like it. This is a weapon of preference for modern dictators; its deployment against Kimmel even exceeds previous government censorship (e.g., targeting targets) The author of the pro-Palestine column deportation).
In short, what just happened shows how far the path of America’s dictatorship has gone in just eight months.
Jimmy Kimmel and the abuse of national powers
Kimmel’s downfall began with some admittedly unwise speculation in Monday’s monologue: “We had some new lows over the weekend, and the Maga gang desperately tried to describe the child as the murder of anything other than Charlie Kirk and did everything and did everything to get political points from it.”
At the time, the evidence showed that the Sagittarius was probably not a follower of the magazine (the evidence released the next day showed that he was almost certainly on the political left).
But Kimmel’s side – Monologues are mainly mocking President Donald Trump – No evidence of what will happen next. FCC head Brendan Carr threatened to see her podcast appearance on Wednesday Revoke any radio station’s broadcast license This continues to air Kimmel’s content.
“It’s time for them to step on this trash…not what we think can meet the needs of the local community,” he said.
Carl’s threat should be toothless. FCC is Prohibited by law By adopting “power of censorship” or interfering with “right to freedom of speech.” “News Twist” has a very narrow, rarely used exception, in which broadcast news media intentionally broadcast false reports. What Kimmel did – a deputy comment based on weak evidence – was very different from the news reports that created intent to deceive.
But a few months before the shooting, Carl had Start investigating the complaint here exception Oppose the allegations of ABC and CBS, especially against anti-conservative bias. Even if Carl himself declares that the station must take Carl’s threat seriously (in Tweets for 2024) “The First Amendment prohibits government officials from forcing private parties to curb protected speech.”
Hours after Carl threatened Wednesday, Nexstar, the largest owner of the local radio station in the United States, suddenly decided that Kimmel’s comments two nights ago were unacceptable. It is worth noting that Nexstar is currently trying to buy one of its main competitors for $6.2 billion – Merger Definite FCC approval will be required.
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments on Mr. Kirk’s death are offensive and insensitive at a critical moment in our national political discourse,” Andrew Alford, president of the Nexstar broadcast division, said in a statement. “It is not in the public interest to continue to provide Mr. Kimmel with a broadcasting platform in the communities we serve.”
About 200 TV stations without access to Nexstar – 39% In the national market, the maximum allowable ceiling – Kimmel will be hit by a huge rating. So shortly after Nexstar announced the news, ABC/Disney announced that he would be suspended indefinitely.
Trump has brought a long time to outstanding critic Jimmy Kimmel. Earlier this year, after CBS severed late-night Trump Stephen Colbert, the president repeatedly said Kimmel was “Next. “Kimmel’s Kirk comment, this is Both are FCC specialists (According to reports) ABC executive It seems to be an excuse in scope to be considered an excuse – taking advantage of the general atmosphere of fear and censorship after Kirk’s death to punish the important names on the president’s list of enemies.
The weaponization of seemingly neutral “good government” rules such as enemies of the incumbent president is a familiar shift in the story of democratic reverse slides. It was one of the main tools used by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a press release designed to beat up his country, ultimately forcing independent channels to sell to government-unit entrepreneurs who changed their editorial stance.
It will take more work for Trump to consolidate control of the media. But, the amazing thing about Kimmel Case is how Nexstar (and ABC) rolls over. They don’t even have the ability to try to defend their abilities to control what’s going on in the radio waves. Instead, they clearly believe that fighting the government is expensive and risky, putting licenses or even valuable mergers in danger, and taking risks is not worth it to Jimmy Kimmel.
This is what it looks like when the elite of a society faces authoritarianism. It never ends.
