US President Donald Trump on Monday expressed his surprise on his social media platform Truth Social that ABC have of late night show host Jimmy Kimmel.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was taken when he was indefinitely suspended over comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s death.
Trump’s threat
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Trump wrote. “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.”
Trump went on to accuse broadcaster ABC of “playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE,” and said Kimmel was “yet another arm of the DNC,” short for Democratic National Committee.
“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.”
What did Kimmel say on his comeback
Jimmy Kimmel said he never meant to make light of Kirk’s murder.
“I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind, but I do want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human, and that is: You understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said in an emotional appearance.
Kimmel criticized the ABC affiliates that took his show off the air. “That’s not legal. That’s not American. It’s un-American,” he said.
He thanked the people who supported him, including those who do not share the same opinions but still stood up for his right to speak, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
“It takes courage for them to speak out against this administration,” he said. “They did, and they deserve credit for it.”
Trump’s disdain for late-night hosts
Trump has never hidden his disdain for late-night TV hosts in the US, many of whom have mocked the president.
In July, US broadcaster CBS said it would cancel “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” next May. The network said it shut down the decades-old TV institution for financial reasons. But the announcement came three days after Colbert criticized the settlement between President Trump and Paramount Global, parent company of CBS, over a “60 Minutes” story.
Trump expressed his delight at the decision and said he heard Kimmel would be “next.”
Sinclair, Nexstar refuse to air Kimmel despite ABC lifting the ban
Meanwhile, the Sinclair and Nexstar corporations who own ABC affiliates refused to air Kimmel’s show, affecting cities such as St. Louis, Nashville and Tennessee.
Last week, following Kimmel’s comments, the two companies, which own dozens of the affiliates, announced they would be removing the show from their stations’ schedules, which prompted Disney to suspend the show nationwide.
Sinclair also demanded Kimmel apologize to Kirk’s family and make a donation to his right-wing activist group Turning Point USA.
Both confirmed that their affiliates would still not be broadcasting the show when it restarts, but Sinclair did say “discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Edited by: John Silk
The post Trump taken aback over Jimmy Kimmel reinstatement by ABC appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
