Trump’s Quiet War on American Press Freedom Just Claimed Its Biggest Victim

The Jimmy Kimmel suspension exposes how Trump weaponizes business regulations against critics

(Photo by Tobias Tullius)

The indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show by ABC last night represents a deeply troubling escalation in the assault on free speech under the Trump administration. Corporate media surrender to government pressure the moment their business interests are threatened.

ABC pulled Kimmel’s show after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened affiliates with license revocation if they continued airing content critical of the administration. The suspension came directly after major station groups, such as Nexstar — which is seeking FCC approval for a merger — announced they would not broadcast the show.

Carr is the author of the media regulation chapter of Project 2025. Although Trump presented Carr as a “warrior for free speech,” he prioritizes fighting what he sees as a liberal bias in the American media.

So what was Kimmel’s offense? In his Monday monologue, he criticized how “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”