US President Donald Trump has denounced ABC for reinstating late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, accusing the network of ‘not funny’ and warning it could face a ‘test’ over the decision. The move follows Kimmel’s suspension linked to a government investigation into his comments about the assassination of conservative speaker Charlie Kirk. Trump accused Kimmel of putting ABC ‘in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE,’ while adding that ‘we’re going to test ABC out on this.’
The suspension followed comments from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who during an interview accused Kimmel of helping to spread misinformation about the political ideology of Kirk’s alleged killer. ‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way,’ Carr said. Kimmel had drawn criticism for saying that ‘the MAGA gang’ was trying to portray the shooter ‘as anything other than one of them,’ while also faulting Trump for a perceived lack of empathy over Kirk’s death. In his monologue on Tuesday, Kimmel said the suspect was a ‘deeply disturbed individual’ who did not represent any political group.
Trump has frequently targeted comedians who mock him. In June, he celebrated CBS’ cancelation of Stephen Colbert’s show and predicted that K’ or Jimmy Fallon might be next. Last week, he suggested that broadcasters giving him ‘bad publicity’ could have their licenses revoked. Kimmel’s future audience reach remains unclear. Nexstar and Sinclair – owners of hundreds of local television stations, including ABC affiliates – have vowed to block his program from their networks.