CNN host Abby Phillip consistently shut down the network’s resident Trump supporter Scott Jennings over the decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air indefinitely.
The pair clashed on Wednesday’s episode of NewsNight, where the conversation was dominated by the news of ABC’s decision to remove Kimmel from the air.
The move came after Kimmel made a joke about President Donald Trump’s response to the shooting death of Charlie Kirk–causing a MAGA firestorm and invoking the wrath of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. After an interview with far-right YouTuber Benny Johnson, where Carr revealed that he was contemplating revoking ABC’s broadcasting license, the network acted quickly, announcing later that day that it would be pulling Kimmel’s late-night show from the air indefinitely.
On NewsNight, Jennings attempted to argue that Kimmel’s suspension was not the latest example of a series of chilling crackdowns on free speech by the Trump administration, but rather a business decision made by the parent company, Disney.
However, Phillip consistently fought back that there was a bigger problem at play.
When Phillip asked Jennings if he was fine with the FCC chairman “threatening speech [the administration] doesn’t like”, he responded, “Jimmy Kimmel is still free to speak, he just isn’t necessarily free to do it on ABC, which obviously made a business decision.”
He went on to argue that the decision was likely the result of Kimmel upsetting Nexstar and Sinclair Group, both of whom own several local ABC affiliates. “A smart TV person said the only thing you can’t do in TV is p–s off the affiliates, I think that’s what they did.”
Jennings also argued that Kimmel “does not have a right to have a television show where he lies his a– off to the American people and attacks half this country on a nightly basis.”
Phillip, interjecting, fired back at Jennings, “There are plenty of people over on another network who I will not name who lied about the last election, who denigrate half the country every single night. And guess what? They are allowed to do it.”
“Now the question is, Scott, is the government supposed to be punishing people for the speech that they don’t like? Is that the role of the government, in your mind?”
Seemingly contradicting his earlier arguments that the Trump administration did not play a role in the decision to take Kimmel’s show off the air, Jennings later suggested that Carr’s actions were “just the power of someone in the government forcing a little self-reflection in these media companies for what they’ve been doing and the way they’ve been operating.”
“Scott, do you believe in free speech or not?” Phillip asked, visibly exasperated. “Of course I do,” Jennings replied.
When Phillip asked Jennings about the ultimatum offered by Carr which would suggest the decision was influenced by the Trump administration’s threat, Jennings replied, “All of these companies have business decisions to make that are based on more than just what a singular person said in an interview. They’ve got affiliates to deal with, they’ve got advertisers to deal with.”
“So why not let them deal with it? Why do you have to bring the FCC into it?” Phillip shot back.
Despite the back and forth, the pair never found a middle ground. Jennings even doubled down on X with a post after the show, claiming, “bye bye, Jimmy.”
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