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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Joined Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany for her new show American Saturday, where she discussed former President Barack Obama’s comments on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” paused indefinitely.
“All the respect you deserve President ObamaHe didn’t know what he was talking about,” Levitt asserted. “The decision to fire Jimmy Kimmel and cancel his show came from ABC executives. ”
Obama posted to X on Thursday Posted to X on Thursday Posted to X: “After years of complaints about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new level of danger through conventional threats to regulate media companies unless they laugh at it or fire reporters and commentators don’t like it.”
He added: “This is exactly the government coercion that the First Amendment is designed to prevent, and media companies need to start to stand up instead of surrendering.”
Levitt said Obama “don’t know what he was talking about”, claiming Trump put pressure on the ABC to pull Kimmel’s performance away. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Levitt assured the audience that the ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel was not a request from the White House, and President Donald Trump did not put pressure on the network.
“How do I know, Kelly?” she asked. “Because when this news broke, I was with the president U.K.. ”
The press secretary claimed she was the one who made the announcement to Trump during her visit to the UK, when the president “didn’t know it was happening.”
Gavin Newsom slams “no spine” ABC, pulling Jimmy Kimmel away
“This is the decision made by the ABC because Jimmy Kimmel chose to lie to his audience when our country is in mourning to understand his plans. It was the decision he made and now he is facing the result of this decision and is facing for lying.”
Jimmy Kimmel is the host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” from the June 16, 2025 show. (Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)
ABC’s parent company Disney, Digital confirmation to Fox News On Wednesday, Kimmel’s performance, based in Los Angeles, will pull “indefinitely”.
Nexstar Media Group, which owns hundreds of TV stations, announced in a press release that it will grab Kimmel’s show on its ABC branch from the “Foreseeable Future” on Wednesday night and will replace other shows with his comments about Kirk’s alleged assassin. The Sinclair broadcast team followed suit.
Liberal Anger As ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel from the Air After Charlie Kirk Assassin Review
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments on Mr. Kirk’s death are offensive and insensitive at a critical moment in our national political discourse, and we do not think they reflect the views, opinions or values of our local communities,” Nexstar broadcast chief Andrew Alford said in a press release.
Charlie Kirk speaks before being shot dead while visiting Utah University in Orem, Utah on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/deseret News AP)
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Kimmel accused conservatives of hitting a “new low” when fixing left-wing ideology on 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson, despite prosecutors reiterating the links in Tuesday’s indictment.
Levitt noted that although Trump was “satisfied with the decision,” he had nothing to do with the show. She added that ABC’s choice is likely to come down to business, as Kimmel’s ratings are “in the gutter”.
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Fox News’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to the report.
