President Donald Trump went after ABC hard after the network said Jimmy Kimmel Live! would come back following a week-long break. The late-night show was taken off the air on September 17 after host Jimmy Kimmel made harsh comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and how Trump supporters reacted to his death.
ABC’s choice to bring Kimmel back made Trump angry right away, even though he had been happy about the suspension before. The network faced lots of pressure from famous people, entertainment unions, and free speech groups who said the move was giving in to government bullying.
In a Truth Social post Tuesday night, Trump said he couldn’t believe ABC’s choice, saying he “can’t believe” Kimmel’s suspension was lifted and guessing that “something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there.” The president asked why ABC would want someone back who “does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in danger by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE.”
Trump makes bigger threats against ABC
Trump also said Kimmel was working like “another arm” of the Democratic National Committee, saying this setup was against the law. He said he would take ABC to court and ended his angry post by calling the network “a true bunch of losers.” The president had been happy about Kimmel’s suspension before, writing on Truth Social that it was “Great News for America.”
The fight started when Kimmel went after Trump and his supporters for how they handled Charlie Kirk’s killing on September 10 at Utah Valley University. Kirk, who helped start Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during a speaking event by 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who now faces murder charges. Prosecutors want the death penalty, saying the attack was about politics.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr had pushed ABC to do something about Kimmel, saying on a conservative podcast that companies could handle the situation “the easy way or the hard way.” This made big station owners Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group say they would not show the program, which led ABC to stop it for good. The Trump-Kimmel fight has been going on for years, with the president often going after the late-night host.
When Kimmel came back Tuesday night, he made sharp comments about Trump, saying the president wanted to see Americans “crash and burn” because he “can’t take a joke.” Kimmel told viewers to “speak out against this bully” and warned that Trump was not just going after comedians but also news reporters through lawsuits and scary tactics.
Even though ABC said Kimmel was coming back, Sinclair and Nexstar stations still refuse to show the program. Disney’s stock dropped by 2.39 percent during the suspension time, which equals almost $5 billion in market value, as the company dealt with boycotts and people canceling their Disney+ accounts.
Published: Sep 24, 2025 06:10 pm