The very public fatal shooting of 31-year-old Charlie Kirk, an incredibly influential political voice in the right-wing space, is sure to be reflected on as a pivotal moment in U.S. history. When conversations demanding the release of the Epstein files were swelling to a climax, the sudden death seemed to quickly unite an increasingly fractured Republican Party. Of his views, Kirk was arguably most well-known for his vehement protection of free speech. While thousands of his followers have vowed to continue this defense, some more influential voices, ironically, have carried out just the opposite.
The announcement of Kirk’s death came from none other than President Trump himself. In an incredible opportunity to unite the country, its leader immediately began to participate in hateful rhetoric towards half of U.S. voters. Before a suspect was even found, Trump stated that “radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives” in a Truth Social video upload. The President also encouraged his constituents to “beat the hell [out of] radical left lunatics”, among other comments that only fanned the flames of Kirk’s followers’ anger.
After he spent nearly two days publicly mourning and condemning Kirk’s murder, a reporter asked the President how he was holding up regarding Kirk’s death. He stated that he was doing “very good” and did not wait for a beat before pointing the crowd towards the construction of his new ballroom. Many found the President’s reaction comical due to how unfazed he appeared about Kirk, as he immediately moved to center the conversation around himself in classic Trump-like fashion. Even followers of Kirk and Trump alike found it jarringly disrespectful. The interaction became quite a viral clip on social media.
Days later, popular late night television host, Jimmy Kimmel, decided to incorporate Trump’s response into the opening monologue of his show. With Kirk’s death still trending online, Kimmel received a decent amount of traffic. Things eventually seemed to slow down, that is, until two of the country’s largest television providers announced that they would be suspending Jimmy Kimmel Live! until further notice.
FCC head Brendan Carr publicly pushed for action to be taken against Kimmel earlier that day, telling podcaster Benny Johnson that they “could do this the easy way or the hard way” in a somewhat threatening nature. Carr and Trump are close, which resulted in more widespread suspicion on the topic of censorship.
Although they released separate statements, both Nextar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group explained that they were preempting the program due to Kimmel’s comments not being in the public interest. Soon after, ABC officially halted Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely, and he was immediately put under immense pressure to “straighten up his act,” as according to The New York Times, he was encouraged to apologize and “make a meaningful personal donation” to the Kirks and his start-up. Deadline also reported that Sinclair pledged to air a Charlie Kirk special in Kimmel’s slot.
The cherry on top was that general audiences viewed the segment that got Kimmel in trouble as surprisingly tame in contrast to the consequences. In the monologue, he jokes that Kirk’s killer is a Trump supporter and also makes fun of the President’s unique stages of grief after playing the ballroom clip. On social media, Kimmel was personally only respectful towards Kirk and his family, nearly a week before the controversial episode even aired.
Breaking it down simply — the comedy was only pointed towards President Trump and his certain cult-like followers, not at all towards Kirk, which makes the push for Kimmel to uplift and honor his memory as penance odd. According to Rolling Stone, “multiple execs felt that Kimmel had not actually said anything over the line… but the threat of Trump administration retaliation loomed,” as Trump continues in his fight to take down the late night hosts.
Kimmel received unconditional support from the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers’ Guild of America as they immediately condemned the decision, holding protests across both NYC and LA. The general population was able to protest in their own way, as within a few days of Kimmel getting pulled, nearly two million Disney+ subscribers cancelled their subscriptions in solidarity. These efforts certainly got the attention of ABC executives, as Kimmel was reinstated within a matter of days, with Nexstar and Sinclair soon following suit.
Upon Kimmel being brought back, Trump furiously took to Truth Social, threatening to sue ABC and virtually admitting he had in the past. In his returning monologue, Kimmel did not hold back. He made fun of Trump throughout, became emotional over protecting free speech, and challenged the government and the FCC.
Ultimately, the sentiment that a popular and long-running television broadcast can be almost immediately taken off the air for making fun of the president is an incredibly concerning standard. Political satire is at its most significant in politically charged times such as these, as it allows Americans to consider viewpoints in a stress-free space and wrestle with long-held beliefs. It’s crucial to fight for free speech in the media, now more than ever.