Leading Democrat Gavin Newsom mocked Sean Hannity after the Fox News host claimed no “prominent conservative” pushed for Jimmy Kimmel’s firing—by brandishing Donald Trump’s own words at him.
MAGA mouthpiece Hannity made the laughable claim while discussing ABC’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! “indefinitely” following a monologue about Charlie Kirk’s killing.
“I can’t find a single prominent conservative voice in the country that even remotely wanted or was pushing to get Jimmy Kimmel taken off the air,” he said, seemingly without irony.
BREAKING: Sean Hannity doesn’t think Donald Trump is “a prominent conservative voice.” https://t.co/HaFm1OLT5N pic.twitter.com/3NbmsC4OS6
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 18, 2025
“BREAKING: Sean Hannity doesn’t think Donald Trump is ”a prominent conservative voice,”” California Gov. Newsom responded on X, sharing a Truth Social post from the president in which he warned Kimmel’s firing was “next.”
Trump’s boast became a flashpoint after CBS moved to end The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, a decision the network called financial, but which the president revelled in.
His ominous prediction came true on Wednesday, after ABC affiliates refused to air the show, which featured Kimmel’s Kirk monologue—an on-air bit that the right framed as blaming MAGA, even though Kimmel did not explicitly say the suspected shooter was a Republican.
Kimmel, 57, actually said, “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.”
But after Nexstar, which operates ABC affiliates, told viewers it wouldn’t carry the show “for the foreseeable future,” an ABC spokesperson told CNN, “Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be pre-empted indefinitely.”
The move came after Trump-aligned FCC commissioner Brendan Carr cheered pressure on Kimmel. Carr had publicly threatened ABC’s broadcast license and praised affiliates for benching the show.
Trump immediately took a victory lap. “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” he crowed on Truth Social, sneering that Kimmel has “ZERO talent” and goading NBC to dump its own late-night hosts.
Inside ABC, there are reportedly no plans for Kimmel to apologize, and Disney was merely “monitoring” the situation with no return date set, as senior executives held emergency meetings about the backlash and potential regulatory heat.
The network is also reportedly monitoring a potential return.
However, Colbert and Kimmel’s removal from TV has drawn free-speech alarms and industry backlash.
Comedian Wanda Sykes, who was due to be the lead guest on Wednesday, said: “So let’s see, [Trump] didn’t end the Ukraine war or solve Gaza within his first week, but he did end freedom of speech within his first year.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Fox News for comment.
The post Newsom Skewers Hannity’s Defense of Kimmel’s Axing appeared first on The Daily Beast.
