What would the late Charlie have thought about an unfunny late-night host and his cadre of leftist writers openly lying about his assassin’s affiliations?
Kimmel sneered:
“The MAGA Gang [is] 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.”
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he and his writers went on to mock President Trump’s response to Kirk’s death, turning a national tragedy into a cheap punchline.
This is what passes for “comedy” on late-night television today: partisan smears, cheap insults, and thinly veiled contempt for conservatives.
Let me be blunt: I don’t watch Jimmy Kimmel. He’s an asshole, little more than a smug mouthpiece propped up by a large staff of progressive writers. But the bigger question is, why did ABC preempt his show at all?
Follow the Money
Contrary to appearances, ABC’s decision wasn’t about conscience. It wasn’t an attack on morality. It was about business.
The network’s largest affiliate group, Nexstar Media, pulled Kimmel off the air. Why? Because Nexstar has a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna sitting on the FCC’s desk. When billions are at stake, even a “star” like Kimmel suddenly becomes expendable.
That’s the real story.
FCC Pressure
On Benny Johnson’s podcast, Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr pointed out that broadcasters don’t have unlimited free rein:
“Broadcasters have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with an obligation to operate in the public interest… These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
When asked what ABC should do, Carr didn’t mince words:
“There are calls for Kimmel to be fired. I think you could certainly see a path forward for suspension over this.”
It’s no coincidence, then, that Nexstar quickly moved to preempt Kimmel’s program. They’re not protecting the sensibilities of their viewers; they’re protecting their $6.2 billion merger.
The Double Standard
Let’s be honest: if a conservative host had mocked a liberal leader’s death, the media outrage would have been nuclear. Sponsors would vanish overnight. Networks would issue tearful apologies. Careers would end.
But because it’s Jimmy Kimmel, and because his targets are conservatives like Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump, the press shrugs. The same media that lectures us endlessly about “disinformation” and “incivility” looks the other way when the insults fly from the left.
This is the double standard conservatives have come to expect.
Free Speech Still Matters
And yet — conservatives should be careful here. As offensive as Kimmel’s smear was, silencing him sets a dangerous precedent.
Charlie Kirk himself embodied the raw, unfiltered spirit of free speech. He was not always polished or universally loved, but his very presence in the public square was proof that the First Amendment still has teeth.
Free speech doesn’t protect only the voices we like. It protects the voices we despise — because once government or corporations get to decide who speaks, no one is safe.
As Justice Louis Brandeis famously said, the remedy for harmful speech is not censorship but more speech, better speech, louder speech.
Bottom Line
Jimmy Kimmel’s disgraceful smear of Charlie Kirk revealed more about his own irrelevance than about Kirk’s legacy. But ABC’s preemption of his show had nothing to do with morality or decency — and everything to do with business and the political pressure tied to an influential affiliate’s pending $6.2 billion merger.
Kimmel can keep sneering. Conservatives must keep speaking. Because in the end, free speech protects all of us — or it protects none of us.
— Steve
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Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr on Benny Johnson’s Podcast
In response to the question, “What would you like to see done at ABC?”
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