During an Air Force One press briefing on Thursday, President Trump criticized network evening shows, complaining that "all they do is hit Trump. They're licensed. They're not allowed to do that." And back in July, Trump responded to Colbert's cancellation by saying that Kimmel was next. Not for nothing, but it was also in July when Paramount narrowly won approval from the FCC for its now-completed merger with Skydance.
Kimmel, a late-night host who's long criticized and mocked President Donald Trump, had his namesake show on ABC suspended "indefinitely" after his comments about Charlie Kirk, the right-wing influencer who was killed in public last week. Carr, a Trump appointee, suggested on a conservative podcast on Wednesday that owners of local broadcast stations that license ABC programming should pressure the network to cancel Kimmel. He said broadcasters who don't act "in the public interest" could get their licenses reviewed.
Driving the news: ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel off air "indefinitely" on Wednesday in response to the late-night host's comments about Charlie Kirk's assassination. The extraordinary move came after Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr warned ABC that it could face fines or license revocations if it did not "operate in the public interest." Trump celebrated Kimmel's removal - just as he did CBS's decision to cancel Stephen Colbert's show -
