Trump says Kimmel was fired for 'lack of talent' amid outrage over host's suspension in US

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said the reason Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was pulled from the air last night is because he is “not a talented person”.

The show was suspended after the US government threatened to cancel broadcasting licences because of comments the host made about the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and Trump’s response to it.

Kimmel had been a long-time critic of Trump. 

The US President gave a gleeful response to a question about the host’s suspension at a press conference during his UK state visit today saying that Kimmel had been fired due to “bad ratings”.

“Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. He had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago,” Trump said. 

“You can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent.”

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said in the comments that led to his suspension. 

On Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr openly threatened the license of ABC affiliates that broadcast Kimmel’s show.

Hours later, Nexstar, one of the country’s biggest owners of ABC affiliate stations, announced it would be removing the show from its stations.

Nexstar is in the middle of a multi-billion-dollar merger with a rival that will require FCC approval.

ABC – which is owned by Disney – then followed suit, pulling the show nationwide.

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Trump was pleased at the decision, taking to his social media platform Truth Social to write: “Great News for America”.

“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”

‘State censorship’

But there has been outrage from other sectors of society. The union which represents musicians in the show’s band called the move “state censorship”.

Tino Gagliardi, the president of the American Federation of Musicians, said: “This is state censorship. It’s now happening in the United States of America, not some far-off country. It’s happening right here and right now.”

“This act by the Trump Administration represents a direct attack on free speech and artistic expression. These are fundamental rights that we must protect in a free society. The American Federation of Musicians strongly condemns the decision to take Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air.”

Leading Democrats, including House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, issued a joint statement calling for the resignation of Carr.

The statement said: “Brendan Carr, the so-called Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has engaged in the corrupt abuse of power.”

“He has disgraced the office he holds by bullying ABC, the employer of Jimmy Kimmel, and forcing the company to bend the knee to the Trump administration. FCC Chair Brendan Carr should resign immediately.”

Democratic Senator Ben Ray Lujan also criticised the move.

“President Trump and FCC Chair Carr made it clear: fall in line or be silenced,” he said on X.

California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote: “Buying and controlling media platforms. Firing commentators. Canceling shows. These aren’t coincidences. It’s coordinated. And it’s dangerous.”

“They are censoring you in real time.”

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