Trump doubles down on his crusade against late-night shows with new threats.

BarcelonaThe hunting party against the presenters of late nights It doesn't stop. Donald Trump celebrated the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's show (effective in June) and the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, but the reinstatement of the latter host made him redouble his threats against late-night television comedians. Furthermore, the American president has made it clear who he thinks should be the next item on the agenda. It is Seth Meyers, host of the late late show NBC's show, that is, the second show of that format broadcast by the network, just after Jimmy Fallon (whom he has also wished professional death).

"Great news for America. The Jimmy Kimmel Show, crushed by ratings, has been canceled," Trump wrote last week on his social network Truth. "Congratulations to ABC for having the courage to do what was necessary. Kimmel has zero talent and worse ratings, even, than Colbert, if that's possible. This leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, alone on the Fake News NBC network. And their ratings are also terrible."

This was the umpteenth message from the president against the host, which ultimately proved ill-advised, as the Disney-owned network ended up lifting its suspension after a few days. Calls for a boycott are cited as a reason for the reversal: Disney's stock price fell 2% in the days following the controversy. And if the Australian network ABC reported receiving hundreds of complaint emails, despite having no connection to them, it's easy to imagine the amount of pressure the American network must have received.

Trump's disappointment with Kimmel's return was evident, as he wrote in the Truth Social. "I can't believe they gave him his job back (...). The White House told him they'd canceled him. Something's happened since then, because his audience is gone and his talent never existed." Beyond the assessments, the Republican issued a new threat to television: "Kimmel is another arm of the Democratic Party, and as far as I know, this could be considered a major campaign contribution. I think we'll test ABC on this. Let's see how we make it more lucrative." The message referenced his fight with ABC, which paid him that amount because host George Stephanopoulos claimed Trump was "responsible for rape," when in fact it was a case of sexual abuse.

Trump's defeat in this battle has occurred in two stages. In the United States, television networks do not directly manage the different local television channels; rather, other companies do, which then affiliate with one of the four major broadcast networks in the country: NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox. Generally, they reserve some time for local content in each area and connect with the major programs produced by the Big Four.

Kimmel's partial cancellation was due to pressure from one of ABC's partners, Nexstar, which warned that none of its dozens of antennas would connect to the show that hour (with the consequent damage to the show's ratings). Sinclair, another television antenna company, did the same. And although Kimmel returned only to territories where neither of these two companies had coverage, both have finally agreed to offer the show again to the regions they control.

Trump has the capacity to retaliate against them, especially Nextstar, which is seeking growth by buying a rival company in a deal valued at $6.2 billion. To do so, he needs the approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the broadcast regulator currently chaired by one of Trump's staunchest allies, Brendan Carr. This ability to allow or veto media operations is what gives the president leverage when it comes to trying to influence content and who presents it.

Next target: Seth Meyers

While waiting to see how his revenge for Disney challenging him by bringing Kimmel back plays out, Trump has used recent days to target other hosts, especially Seth Meyers. His hatred is not only directed at the person, but also at the network, which he often insults, breaking any sense of presidential tone. An example: "How awful Seth Meyers is at NBC, a network run by a bunch of evil people (remember they also run MSNBC)," he wrote on January 14 of this year, a few days after being inaugurated.

His tweets often mix insults—he always criticizes Meyers's vocalization—with vague threats. "I stared at Meyers, who has severe speech difficulties, for the first time in months, and every time I see that asshole I feel compelled to say how stupid and talentless he is. He's just a time-slot filler for those scum who direct their contributions to the many of them. Comcast should pay a big price for that," the message concluded.

In fact, when it was reported in August that NBC had renewed Meyers' contract until 2028, he jumped at the jugular again. "He has no talent, no ratings, no brains, and the intelligence of an insecure child. Why is Fake News NBC renewing this useless guy's contract? I don't know, but I'll find out!!!"

The aforementioned has responded to all of this in his natural language, that of humor. On a recent edition of his show, when Kimmel's future was still uncertain, he blurted out, "I want to say, before we start, that I have always admired and respected Mr. Trump. I have always believed him to be a visionary, an innovator, a great president, and, even better, a golfer. And if you've seen me say anything about him, I would never deny it."

A dinner for history

Where does all this garden against the comedians of the late showsTrump knows that, indeed, these programs no longer have the audience they had a few years ago, when traditional television dominated audiovisual consumption. But clips of his monologues, which often expose him as an emperor, are incredibly viral, and for the American president, this is an arena he dominates greatly and in which he seeks absolute hegemony. However, beyond this rational hypothesis, there is also a founding moment for this cinematic enmity that incorporates the inevitable human factor.

We flash back to 2011, at the traditional White House Correspondents' Dinner. Obama is at his peak, and Seth Meyers is the comedian invited to deliver the opening monologue. The juiciest rumor in Washington at the time was that a strident magnate and television host was considering a run for president of the United States. It was Donald Trump, who sat in the audience and was showered with ridicule and treated like someone with delusions of grandeur. It is said that the resentment he incubated at that bitter dinner ended up being the push he needed to decide to run for office.

From then on, Trump has not stopped expressing his dislike for Meyers, who left the show. Saturday Night Live –where he was head of scriptwriters and presenter of the satirical news program Weekend Update– to go on to host his own late-night show in the midnight slot. From there, he has been one of the most critical voices of the Republican, much more so than his colleague Jimmy Fallon, who opts for a more down-to-earth humor and a playful approach to his late showIn fact, he was even criticized for humanizing Trump (and favoring his victory) when he brought him on the show before he first became president and made lighthearted jokes about his hair. Such an image would be impossible now with this Trump 2.0.