ABCKimmel's decisionreturn to bringthe Kimmelairwaves backshows proves this was alwaysnever aabout business decision, not government censorship. Thedespite networkthe suspendedleft's himattempts forto spreadingblame falseTrump informationfor aboutstripping Kirk'sthe killercomedian beingof MAGA,his whichfreedom violatedof broadcast standardsspeech. WhenDisney Kimmelmade faceda consequencesbusiness fordecision histo irresponsiblesuspend comments,and hethen threwreinstate ahim tantrumafter andhe threatened to break his contract. TheKimmel, wholewho authoritarianin narrativethe collapsespast celebrated when youTrump realizeand Disneyothers madeon boththe decisionsright independentlywere censored, has caught a break he doesn't deserve.
Make no mistake, Kimmel was taken off the air because Trump's authoritarian pressure campaign temporarily worked through FCC threats and corporate intimidation. Carr explicitly threatened ABC's broadcast licenses while Nexstar and Sinclair — companies with pending FCC business — immediately pulled Kimmel's show. The massive cultural backlash from unions, celebrities and even some Republicans forced Disney to reverse course, proving that organized resistance can defeat government censorship attemptsand that this situation never had anything to do with Kimmel's ratings.
There's a 75% chance that the White House will revoke the media credentials of reporters from two media outlets before Jan. 1, 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0