When British police arrested an Irish comedian three weeks ago for online posts that they said could incite violence against transgender people, President Trump called it “sad” and “not a good thing” when it comes to free speech in the United Kingdom.
“I will just say that in terms of U.K., strange things are happening over there,” the president said after the arrest of Graham Linehan, the writer and anti-transgender activist. “They are cracking down and surprisingly so, and I’ve spoken to the prime minister and let’s see what happens.”
But as Mr. Trump sits down with Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday during the second day of his state visit to Britain, his own administration has forced the ouster of one of America’s most recognizable comedians over comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist.
The ABC network on Wednesday indefinitely suspended Jimmy Kimmel, the comedian and host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, after Mr. Kimmel made comments about the aftermath of Mr. Kirk’s death during his opening monologue on Monday night.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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,” the host said.
Instead of complaining about the similar crackdown on political speech in his own country, Mr. Trump hailed it.
“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” he wrote on his Truth Social media site.
In fact, ABC’s decision to suspend Mr. Kimmel came after threats from one of Mr. Trump’s top officials. On Wednesday, Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said that his agency might take action against ABC because of Mr. Kimmel’s remarks.
Those comments came as Mr. Trump’s allies have been waging a fierce, national campaign against anyone who has expressed critical views of Mr. Kirk in the wake of his death. Dozens of people have been fired or suspended from their jobs after an effort to highlight comments posted online about Mr. Kirk.
The actions against Mr. Kimmel underscore how Mr. Trump and his allies are taking very different approaches to free speech in the United States and Europe.
In Britain, Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have repeatedly assailed the government for being heavy-handed in the way they treat people expressing right-wing views, especially when it comes to migrants. Mr. Vance has said that in the United Kingdom, “free speech, I fear, is in retreat.”
But in the United States, Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance have been on offense, pledging to use the power of the government to go after what the president calls the “radical left” for comments they have made about Mr. Kirk and other remarks they disagree with.
After Mr. Kirk’s death, the president said the “radical left has done tremendous damage to the country,” and added: “But we’re fixing it.”
Michael D. Shear is a senior Times correspondent covering British politics and culture, and diplomacy around the world.
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