White House, Trump cheer ABC over Kimmel suspension: "Jimmy is a sick freak!"
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
President Trump departs the White House on Sept. 11 en route to New York City. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Trump celebrated ABC's decision Wednesday to pull Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show, calling it "great news for America."
Why it matters: Trump joins other conservatives in celebrating and advocating for Kirk critics to face professional consequences.
- Trump has a history of criticizing late-night hosts, having similarly celebrated CBS' decision in July to cancel "The Late Show" hosted by Stephen Colbert.
Driving the news: "Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done," Trump wrote on TruthSocial. "Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that's possible."
- Trump also attacked Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, calling them "two total losers" and urging NBC to cancel their shows next.
- "Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!" he wrote.
Similarly, the official White House Rapid Response account on X celebrated the move: "They're doing their viewers a favor. Jimmy is a sick freak!"
- The White House pointed to Trump's social post when Axios asked for comment Wednesday night.
Catch up quick: An ABC spokesperson told outlets including Axios Wednesday evening that Kimmel's show will be "pre-empted indefinitely."
- FCC chair Brendan Carr warned ABC about potential actions over comments made by Kimmel following Charlie Kirk's killing.
- Carr suggested in an interview Wednesday that broadcasters pull or preempt "garbage" content to avoid the "possibility of fines or license revocations from the FCC."
What he said: In his Monday night opening monologue, Kimmel called Kirk's murder "senseless" and said he could not understand why people would cheer for it. He also criticized conservatives.
- "We hit some new lows over the weekend with 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," he said.
What we're watching: Many eyes will wait to see if NBC suspends or axes the shows hosted by Fallon or Meyers after Trump's comments.
- John Oliver, host of "Last Week Tonight" on HBO and colleague of the other late-night hosts, has also been critical of Trump in the past.
More from Axios:
