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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel – who ABC has yanked off the air – “appeared to directly mislead” the public by insinuating that Charlie Kirk’s killer was a MAGA conservative.
ABC said Wednesday that the host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would be pulled off the air “indefinitely” as a result of his comments linking Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
“The issue that arose here, where lots and lots of people were upset, was not a joke,” Carr told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Thursday.
“It was not making fun,” Carr added in a response to backlash from some viewers arguing that Kimmel was being muzzled for his long history of anti-Trump jokes.
Carr argued that networks with broadcast licenses – like ABC, NBC and CBS – have a special obligation to serve the public interest, and Kimmel failed to do so.
“It was appearing to directly mislead the American public about a significant fact that probably one of the most significant political events we’ve had in a long time, for the most significant political assassination we’ve seen in a long time,” he said of Kimmel’s off-color remarks.
Just a few hours before Kimmel’s suspension was announced, Carr had suggested that there was a “strong case” for the FCC to take action against ABC and its parent company, Disney – calling Kimmel’s comments “truly sick.”
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr told Benny Johnson, a right-wing pundit and YouTuber, earlier that day. “These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
During his show’s opening monologue on Monday, Kimmel said: “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.”
Court documents filed the following day showed that Robinson’s mother told investigators: “Over the last year or so, her son had become more political and had started to lean more to the left, becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented.”
Nexstar Media Group on Wednesday said its ABC affiliate stations will replace Kimmel’s show with other programming “for the foreseeable future.”
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, said in a statement.
“Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time.”
Nexstar – which owns about 10% of ABC affiliates – is currently seeking approval from the FCC for its planned $6.2 billion merger with Tegna.
Trump cheered the suspension of Kimmel’s “ratings challenged” show, and took another jab at Stephen Colbert after CBS in July announced plans to cancel his late-night show after 10 years on the air.
“That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Wednesday.
During his interview on CNBC on Thursday, Carr denied that his calls for ABC to take action against Kimmel were linked to the late-night host’s anti-Trump politics.
Trump has taken legal action against several news networks and papers, and in the past blasted ABC as “FAKE NEWS” – adding that he would support revoking their broadcast licenses.
