Trump says ABC should fire late-night host Kimmel

FCC PRESSURE ON BROADCASTERS

In September of last year, the head of the Federal Communications Commission pressured broadcasters to take Kimmel off the air. ABC briefly suspended Kimmel’s show that month over comments he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Hours before the suspension, FCC head Brendan Carr warned that local broadcasters who aired Kimmel could face fines or loss of licenses and said “it’s time for them to step up”.

His comments garnered pushback from the entertainment industry and politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who likened Carr’s threats to those of an organised crime boss.

In September, Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group briefly took Kimmel’s show off the air on their 70 ABC-affiliated stations covering nearly a quarter of US households.

Carr approved Nexstar’s US$3.5 billion tie-up with Tegna, but a US judge has put the merger on hold. 

Carr has said he wants to make it easier for local broadcasters to preempt national programming. He did not immediately respond on Monday to a request for comment on the first lady’s remarks. 

Sinclair and Nexstar did not immediately comment on Monday. 

Trump, who was the subject of two prior assassination attempts, has repeatedly attacked the media and threatened broadcast licenses. Trump had praised Kimmel’s suspension in September.

In November, Trump criticized an ABC News correspondent for asking Saudi Arabia’s crown prince about the 2018 killing of a Washington Post columnist and suggested the FCC should move to revoke the broadcast licenses of Disney-owned ABC stations.