Most Republicans believe that mainstream media in the United States is biased—and should face repurcussions accordingly, said CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten on Friday.
Amid continuing fallout from the suspension of late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel from his ABC show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the data analyst highlighted results from a 2024 Reuters/Ipsos survey which saw 71 percent of Republicans agreeing with the idea that the media is unfair and “should be punished.”
“There are rare points in which I see a piece of data and it just sort of jumps off the screen at me,” Enten said on Friday morning. “Republicans are absolutely loving what is happening right now to Jimmy Kimmel,” he continued.
During his show on Monday night, Kimmel addressed the suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. “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,” Kimmel said.
Trump’s FCC Chairman Brendan Carr subsequently threatened to take away ABC’s license to broadcast, calling out Kimmel’s comments as the “sickest conduct possible.”
And Kimmel’s late-night show was suspended indefinitely on Wednesday, following criticism from Nexstar, a media company that runs ABC-affiliated stations across the United States, and the Sinclair Broadcast Group.
“[Republicans] absolutely love the words that are coming out of Brendan Carr’s mouth,” Enten continued, arguing they wouldn’t have a problem if the government influenced ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel.
According to an April 2025 Pew Research poll cited by the CNN data analyst, 64 percent of Republicans believe the US media is influenced by government interests “a great deal.”
In July, President Donald Trump celebrated the cancellation of another late-night talk show—CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
“I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” he added, perhaps prophetically.
The president then took to Truth Social on Wednesday, saying, “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent.”
On Thursday, talk-show hosts—including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and Jon Stewart—addressed Kimmel’s suspension, after the president labeled Fallon and Meyers as “total losers.”
“Now, some naysayers may argue that this administration’s speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy… to obscure an unprecedented consolidation of power and unitary intimidation,” said Stewart. “Some people would say that… Not me, though. I think it’s great,” the talk-show host added, before shifting his usual monologue into the style of heavily-censored state TV.
According to Deadline, Disney’s top executives are discussing bringing Kimmel back on air. “There’s no light at the end of the tunnel—yet,” an insider reportedly told the outlet.
But Sinclair, the largest owner of ABC-affiliated stations, said that it will not lift Kimmel’s suspension on its stations “until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.”
In a statement, Sinclair also called on Kimmel to apologize to the Kirk family and make donations to both the family and Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk led before his death, and which is now run by his wife, Erika Kirk.
Kimmel has not yet made any public comments regarding his suspension.
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