Commentary: After Kimmel and Colbert, who’s next in the war against free speech? Not Gutfeld

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Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert have already ended their shows, and President Trump seems determined to do the same to Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon.

ABC has temporarily suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following criticism from supporters of Donald Trump. The controversy began after the show’s host, who has often criticized the former president, misrepresented the political views of Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. This suspension is part of a larger pattern of attempts by Trump’s allies to silence those who criticize him.

ABC News received the notice shortly after Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (appointed by Trump), criticized Jimmy Kimmel on a conservative podcast. Carr implied the FCC might investigate ABC due to Kimmel’s statements, claiming they were part of a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and that the FCC would explore possible responses.

He told podcast host Benny Johnson that companies can either address the issue with Jimmy Kimmel themselves, or the Federal Communications Commission might have to get involved. He suggested they could handle it easily now, or face more scrutiny later.

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So, Jimmy Kimmel made a rather pointed comment on his show last night. He suggested the person accused of attacking Charlie Kirk might actually be a supporter of Trump – a Republican, if you will. It’s a surprising angle, and definitely adds another layer to an already complex situation. It’s interesting to see him bring that potential political connection to light, though it’s still just speculation at this point.

Kimmel claimed that supporters of Donald Trump were attempting to portray Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an outsider, different from themselves.

Jimmy Kimmel discussed the reaction to the shooting of Charlie Kirk, noting the attempts by supporters of Donald Trump to distance the shooter from their group. He said they seemed more focused on political gain than mourning the incident. Kimmel also mentioned the White House lowered flags to half-staff as a sign of respect, a decision that drew some criticism, but acknowledged the president appeared genuinely affected by the tragedy.

Jimmy Kimmel then showed a clip of Trump answering questions from reporters. When asked how he was doing, Trump responded that he was feeling very good and pointed out the construction of a new ballroom at the White House, noting it would “be a beauty.” He then elaborated on the ballroom plans.

While the recent Kimmel monologue wasn’t his strongest, it wasn’t severe enough to justify taking the show off the air. However, given the current climate of fear surrounding potential backlash from the White House, ABC decided to suspend a long-running late-night program as a precaution.

As expected, the FCC didn’t take action against Greg Gutfeld, a conservative host on Fox News, for a recent on-air segment. During the segment, Gutfeld used profanity, disrespected the victims of a recent shooting, and presented false information to support his statements.

During a discussion on Fox News’ “The Five,” Greg Gutfeld claimed that political violence in the U.S. was exclusively coming from the left. When co-host Jessica Tarlov challenged him, pointing to the June murder of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Gutfeld reacted angrily.

I found his question really striking – he wondered why this situation was only unfolding on the left, and not mirrored on the right. He seemed to believe that understanding *that* was the key to everything, and honestly, I think he might be right.

He raised his voice and asked her, “Did you even know Melissa Hortman’s name before this? Because none of us did. We weren’t talking about her at all before – I certainly hadn’t heard of her until after she passed away.”

“So, it doesn’t matter?” Tarlov asked.

Gutfeld angrily responded, “Don’t try to mislead me!” He clarified that there wasn’t widespread negativity or exaggeration surrounding the woman before her death. He emphasized it was a targeted crime committed by someone she knew.

There’s no public evidence showing Vance Boelter, the man accused of killing the Hortmans, had any connection to the couple. The U.S. Department of Justice has stated Boelter kept a list of potential targets, and investigators believe his extremist political beliefs may have motivated the crime.

Carr’s criticism of Kimmel continues a pattern of attacks on the media by Trump and his team. Last year, Trump sued ABC and the network ultimately paid $15 million to settle the case. Just this Monday, the president filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times and four of its journalists.

CBS canceled Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” in July, citing financial reasons. However, the timing raised questions, as it happened while CBS’s parent company, Paramount, was seeking government approval for a large merger with Skydance Media. Shortly after CBS agreed to a $16 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump against CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” the merger was approved.

Over the past ten years, viewership for late-night talk shows has steadily decreased. This is largely because fewer people are watching traditional TV, and more are turning to streaming and online videos. For comparison, Johnny Carson’s last show in 1992 attracted a massive 50 million viewers, while David Letterman averaged 7.8 million that same year. Fast forward to the second quarter of 2025, and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” led the ratings with an average of 2.417 million viewers, followed by “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” with 1.772 million, and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” with 1.188 million.

On Wednesday, Trump celebrated the news that Jimmy Kimmel’s show was ending, writing, “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.” He congratulated ABC for making the decision, calling Kimmel untalented and saying his ratings were even worse than Stephen Colbert’s. Trump then criticized Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, calling them “total losers” on NBC with “horrible” ratings, and urged NBC to take action. He signed the message as “President DJT.”

But the true loser here isn’t Trump’s critics or his enemy, the left. It’s freedom of speech.

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2025-09-19 00:01