President Donald Trump just learned that his attempt to silence Jimmy Kimmel failed, and the result is hilarious.
The late-night host is back on the air, and Trump wasted no time throwing a tantrum on Truth Social:
I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his “talent” was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE. He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.
As we already know, Trump’s meltdown proves yet again that Republicans don’t give a damn about free speech. His beef with Kimmel isn’t complicated. He doesn’t like being the butt of jokes, so he wants ABC punished. That’s not some clever legal theory—it’s naked government suppression of speech. And the party that never shuts up about communism? They’re perfectly happy to let Trump play tinpot dictator, dictating what corporate America can and can’t do like he’s running Pyongyang.
The kicker is that Trump actually undermines himself. By blurting out that his entire gripe is about Kimmel’s content—about the jokes—he all but admits there’s no actual case. Courts don’t tend to look kindly on presidents throwing tantrums because a comedian hurt their feelings. The First Amendment is still, indeed, a thing.
Even Trump’s lies get sloppy. Just days ago, the White House insisted they had nothing to do with Kimmel’s suspension, that it was all ABC executives’ decision. But now Trump claims “the White House was told” about the show’s cancellation. If they had nothing to do with it, why would ABC supposedly report anything to the White House at all? The contradictions don’t even matter to him. What matters is bullying companies into compliance. And time and again, institutions that think appeasing him will get him off their back learn the hard way that caving only emboldens him further.
The irony, of course, is that if Kimmel really did have bad ratings, the best punishment for ABC would be to let those ratings sink them. Instead, Trump has guaranteed Kimmel a bigger platform than ever. Nothing makes a late-night comedian more relevant than a presidential hissy fit. Oh well—Kimmel would’ve been even more powerful as a podcaster anyway. The left still needs its Joe Rogan counterweight.
Related | Major media groups plan to keep Kimmel muzzled
For now, though, Trump has ensured that Kimmel’s return is national news. Once again, his obsession with punishing critics has backfired, and the person he wanted to silence is laughing louder than ever.
And so are we.
