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Donald Trump has celebrated the indefinite suspension of the Jimmy Kimmel show as “great news for America.”
Late-night show host Kimmel was pulled from the air following comments he made about the death of Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last week.
Disney-owned ABC announced the decision to suspend Kimmel’s show for the foreseeable future on Wednesday.
- Donald Trump praised ABC's indefinite suspension of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' as 'great news for America' following Kimmel's controversial remarks.
- Jimmy Kimmel faced backlash for linking Charlie Kirk's assassin to MAGA supporters and mocking Trump's grief over Kirk's death.
- Major TV owners Nexstar and Sinclair stopped airing Kimmel's show, citing offensive comments amid political tension.
- Democrats, unions like WGA and SAG, and leaders, including Chuck Schumer, condemned Kimmel's suspension as censorship.
Donald Trump celebrated the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump posted on Truth Social after the announcement.
“Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”
On Monday’s show, Kimmel suggested that alleged Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson was a MAGA supporter.
Image credits: Media Access Awards Presented By Easterseals/Getty Images for Easterseals
He also took aim at Trump, comparing his grief to that of a child grieving a goldfish.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA Gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
Kimmel went on to say it was obvious how hard Trump was taking the loss, sharing a clip of the president answering a question from a reporter on how he was holding up.
Not a big fan of Jimmy Kimmel, but if you think his show should be canceled for this, you’re a hack and a total fraud who should never pretend to care about free speech pic.twitter.com/FSiktbva6y
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) September 17, 2025
Trump replied that he was “very good” and then started to discuss the construction of the new White House ballroom.
“He’s at the fourth stage of grief – construction,” Kimmel said.
“This is now how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend, this is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish,” he added.
Then on Tuesday’s show, Kimmel referenced Vice President JD Vance hosting an episode of Kirk’s podcast in tribute, in which Vance claimed it was a “statistical fact” that most “lunatics in American politics” were on the left.
The cancellation has been criticized by Democrats and unions
Image credits: Donald J Trump
Kimmel accused Vance of blaming the left for Kirk’s murder without evidence, and described the statistical fact he mentioned as “‘complete bulls**t.”
“Many in MAGA-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk,” Kimmel said.
Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, had called for Disney to take action after Kimmel’s comments and suggested that stations could face action from the FCC.
On Wednesday, Nexstar, one of the biggest U.S. TV owners, announced it would not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! on any of its stations for the foreseeable future.
“My Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” it said in a statement.
Image credits: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
A short while later, Sinclair, which operates ABC stations in 30 markets in the U.S, announced it would stop airing Kimmel’s show due to “problematic comments.”
Within minutes, ABC had announced its decision to suspend Kimmel.
While the decision has been welcomed by Trump and some Republicans, it has been sharply criticized by others who fear it is indicative of censorship.
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, said the issue must be taken to court.
“America is meant to be a bastion of free speech. Everybody across the political spectrum should be speaking out to stop what’s happening to Jimmy Kimmel. This is about protecting democracy. This must go to court,” Schumer wrote on X.
First Colbert, now Kimmel.
Last-minute settlements, secret side deals, multi-billion dollar mergers pending Donald Trump’s approval.
Trump silencing free speech stifles our democracy. It sure looks like giant media companies are enabling his authoritarianism.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 18, 2025
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild, two of Hollywood’s biggest unions, also announced their support for Kimmel.
“The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other – to disturb, even – is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people. It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice,” WGA West and East said in a statement.
“Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world. The WGA stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his writers,” the statement added.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren accused Trump of silencing free speech.
“First Colbert, now Kimmel. Last-minute settlements, secret side deals, multi-billion dollar mergers pending Donald Trump’s approval,” Warren wrote on X.
“Trump silencing free speech stifles our democracy. It sure looks like giant media companies are enabling his authoritarianism.”
Earlier this year, Trump suggested that Kimmel would be next to be fired after the Stephen Colbert show was not renewed for further seasons.
Kimmel has not yet issued a public statement.
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