Kimmel and Colbert Cancellations Reveal Trump's Media Suppression Strategy, Experts Warn

The cancellation of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show is part of the Trump Administration’s broader silencing campaign against critics, experts warn, as federal officials intensify scrutiny of media corporations and the press. The late-night show’s cancellation came just hours after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr threatened regulatory action against ABC over Kimmel’s comments regarding the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. “They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with an obligation to operate in the public interest,” Carr said. Experts contend that the indefinite cancellation—barring a personal donation and public apology to the Kirks and Turning Point USA— is part of the Administration’s growing pattern of intimidation, which many media leaders have responded to by acquiescing to demands. “They’re making decisions right now that are in their business interest but that run very contrary to a journalistic interest, to an interest in a democratic society,” says Amy Kristin Sanders, a former journalist and Penn State professor who teaches the First Amendment.  Heidi Kitrosser, a professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, argues that the dispute is part of the government’s “larger pressure campaign” against figures who publicly dissent from the President. Last December, ABC settled a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump over an inaccurate statement made by anchor George Stephanopoulos. Paramount, the parent company of CBS, similarly settled a legal challenge filed by the President over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview. In July, CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a move widely seen as politically motivated, coinciding with the company seeking FCC approval for a merger between Skydance and Paramount. CBS said the cancellation was purely financially motivated. ABC’s action comes after Nexstar Media Group, which owns ABC affiliate stations, announced they would preempt Kimmel’s show. Nexstar is in the midst of a $6.2 billion merger with rival Tegna which must be approved by the FCC.  President Donald Trump lauded the decision on Truth Social Wednesday night, commending the network for “having the courage to do what had to be done.” The President later said Kimmel was fired due to “bad ratings, more than anything else,” while also asserting that Kimmel said “a horrible thing about a great gentleman.” TIME reached out to the FCC. The White House responded to TIME’s request for comment by referring to a statement from Deputy White House Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich. “Bad jokes & bad TV are bad for biz. ABC is no longer paralyzed in fear by the woke mob,” wrote Budowich on X. “This punchline punk should be grateful for the time he had.” Carr told CNBC on Thursday that changes in the “media ecosystem” were “not done yet.”  The cancellation is an extraordinary move The move to cancel Kimmel’s show, experts say, is a rare escalation. The FCC does not have the authority to revoke licenses unilaterally, as it licenses only individual broadcast systems, a limitation grounded by the First Amendment and the Communications Act of 1934. Despite Carr’s references to the FCC’s “unique obligation to operate in the public interest,” the agency cannot prevent the broadcast of specific points of view, even those that run counter to those of the President. “The Commission has observed that “the public interest is best served by permitting free expression of views,” the FCC outlines.  Bob Corn-Revere, chief legal counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit civil liberties group, emphasized that no FCC chair has ever interpreted the public interest standard to authorize government intervention against specific programs or hosts “because they don’t like what they have to say.” Section 236 of the Communications Act also explicitly prohibits government censorship. The reaction has been swift: Several civil liberties organizations, politicians, and other organizations have denounced both ABC’s decision and the threats levied by the FCC Chair. Rep. Robert Garcia announced Thursday he was launching a probe into the Trump Administration, ABC, and Sinclair.  The Writers Guild of America, which represents the writers on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and SAG-AFTRA condemned the decision to suspend Kimmel’s late night show. A group of Congressional Democrats pointed to the need to solidify free speech rights in the country while introducing the No Political Enemies Act, a piece of legislation that would protect critics of the federal government, on Thursday.   Right-wing commentators, by contrast, have defended the decision and attributed Kimmel’s removal to the content of his monologue. “I’m not sure who needs to hear this but Jimmy Kimmel got on the air and falsely stated as a fact that Charlie Kirk’s killer was MAGA, smearing an entire movement and Trump in particular with a vile disgusting lie,” wrote political commentator Megyn Kelly on Wednesday. “I have zero doubt ABC was overwhelmed with absolutely furious calls/comments/emails from truly-FED UP viewers, and knew it had crossed a deadly serious line.” Experts maintain that ABC’s actions were done under government pressure.  “This is a watershed moment that suggests that our right to continue to speak freely and to criticize our government as Americans is in danger,” says Kitrosser. “The power to regulate in the public interest, if it is at all reconcilable with the First Amendment, cannot and does not include the power to tell broadcasters that they can only express positive views about the President, or about people that the President likes. That’s totally incompatible with their anti-censorship obligation.”