ABC announces the return of Kimmel's show after suspending it
The late show was canceled due to the host's comment about Charlie Kirk's killer.
WashingtonABC announced Monday that it will resume Jimmy Kimmel's comedy show tomorrow, Tuesday, after canceling it last week due to pressure from the Trump administration over a comment the host made about the murderer of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. "This is a decision we made because we heard that some of the comments were ill-timed and therefore insensitive. We have spent the last few days reflecting with Jimmy, and after these conversations we have come to the decision to return to the air on Tuesday," the network's statement reads.
The comedian told his late show that Trump's followers were trying to make it seem that Kirk's killer "was not one of their own and were trying to gain political advantage." Once knownthe identity of Charlie Kirk's alleged killer, Tyler RobinsonIt turned out he came from a Trumpist, gun-loving family. This comment led to the show's cancellation. This was yet another symptom of the suffocating witch hunt that Trumpism has launched against anyone who doesn't align with the official White House position, and it shows that this persecution doesn't only target left-wing movements.
The "indefinite" suspension of Kimmel's show was celebrated by President Trump himself and his associates, while also raising alarms about the government's restriction on the right to freedom of expression. The day after Kimmel's censorship, Trump hinted from Air Force One at the possibility of revoking licenses from television stations that provided "negative" coverage of his administration.
The government pressure against the network had also caused some members of the Republican Party and the Trumpist movement to throw up their hands. Texas Senator Ted Cruz was one of the most vocal critics of the government's suggestions about limiting the First Amendment, which protects freedom of expression. On his podcast, Cruz said it was "incredibly dangerous for the government to put itself in the position of telling us what we should and shouldn't like, and then threatening to take you off the air if they don't like what you say."
