Trump’s pressure on media mounting

President Donald Trump Pressure on media companies is increasing.

On Wednesday, Walt Disney Co. I pulled “Jimmy Kimmel live!” Outside the air “indefinitely” from their ABC network after the host made comments connecting the alleged conservative activist killer Charlie Kirk For Trump’s movement, “Make America Great Again.”

This move is made comparisons with CBS cancellation of “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” In July and raising questions about the protection of freedom of speech in a radiating environment from the Trump era.

“We hit some new low over the weekend with Mag’s gang, desperately trying to characterize this child who killed Charlie Kirk as something different from one of them and to do everything possible to score political points from him,” Kimmel said during a monologue that aired on Tuesday night.

“There were grieving between the finger on the finger. On Friday, the White House flew the flags of half a staff, which received some criticism, but at the human level you can see how strongly the president accepts this,” he continued, raising a Trump clip on the White House grass.

Trump was asked how he behaved after Kirk’s death, to which he replied, “I think very well,” before turning to say that construction started on a new $ 200 million ball project.

“He is in the fourth stage of grief: construction,” Kimel jokes. “Demolition. Construction. This is not so an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. Here’s how the 4-year-old mourns a goldfish. Okay? And that didn’t happen once.”

Kimmel was not fired, but Disney Heads wanted to talk to the host about what he had to say when he returned to the air, according to people familiar with the situation.

Trump weighed the question on Thursday, saying, “They had to fire him a long time ago. … He was fired for a lack of talent.”

Kimmel, ABC and Disney Are the Latest Target of Trump’s Scrutiny of Media Companies, Which Has Intensified During His Second Term Markro-and-Profile Defamation Lawsuits, The Defamation regulatory interference from the Federal Communication CommissionS

“An indefinite act of political violence by a violated individual should never be exploited as an excuse for a broader censorship and control,” writes Anna Gomez, the Commissioner of the Lonely Democratic FCC, on Wednesday on social media. “This administration is increasingly using the weight of the government of the government to suppress the legitimate expression.”

Gomez was frank about the interaction of FCC and Trump with media companies. At the end of July, when the government agency approved the merger of Paramount and Skydance, she wrote a statement of disagreement, saying she was concerned about the recent Paramount payment of arrange a suit Bring by Trump against CBS, owned by Paramount, for a “60 -minute” interview with then Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The payment of Paramount and this reckless approval have strengthened those who believe that the government may abuse its power to derive financial and ideological discounts, search for search and secure a positive reflection of the media,” she wrote at that time.

This is not the first case that Trump intervenes in media mergers. He tried to block AT&T’s A $ 85 billion merger with Time Warner in 2017, unless he sells CNN. After all, The deal went through In mid -2018

Stopping “Jimmy Kimmel live!” It came against the backdrop of statements from FCC Brendan Carr chairman, which suggests that the ABC broadcast license was at risk for remarks.

In an interview with a podcast on Wednesday, before the announcement of ABC, Carr said the FCC “will have the remedies that we can look at” regarding Kimel’s comments.

“Honestly, when you see such things, I want to say that we can do this in the easy or difficult way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change behavior and take action, to be honest, to Kimmel, or there will be additional work for FCC forward.”

In August, Trump published on his social platform for the truth that ABC and NBC must lose their broadcast licenses for what he called “unfair reflection of Republicans and/or conservatives.”

“” Journalism “should not be rewarded, it must be discontinued,” Trump said in the publication.

More special, Disney needs regulatory approval for a transaction that will see NFL buy 10% of ESPN In exchange for NFL media assets.

Car told CNBC “Squawk on the street” on Thursday, which Kimel appeared on “Misses” the American public Concerning the facts about the murder of Charlie Kirk in the days leading to the stop of his show.

“The problem that came here, where many and many people were upset, it was no joke,” Carr said.

“He wasn’t having fun,” Carr said. “It seems to directly mislead the US public about a significant fact This is probably one of the most significant political events we have had for a long time for the most significant political murder we have seen for a long time. “

The show’s suspension also came after Nexstar Media Group He said that Associated with ABC stations He would have guessed Kimel’s show “For the Observing Future” as of Wednesday.

Nexstar is looking for FCC approval for its planned Merging a $ 6.2 billion with WeighS About 10% of approximately 225 ABC branch stations are owned by Nexstar. TEGNA owns about 5% of ABC partner stations.

Syncler., which has about 40 ABC branches stationsAlso, for an indefinite period, Jimmy Kimmel live! It says he will not raise this suspension until he has officially discussed ABC about the “commitment of the Network for Professionalism and Accountability” and called on Kimel to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family.

Syncler said in August He examines the options for merging his broadcasting stations, although he has not yet achieved a deal.

A case against ABC News was settled in December 2024, in which the network agreed to pay $ 15 million To Trump’s Presidential Library, after Trump claims that lead George Stefanopoulos made an inaccurate statement on the air that the chosen by the then president had been found civilly responsible for the rape of writer E. Jean Carol. Trump was found responsible for Carroll’s sexual assault and slander. Trump denies Carol’s claims that he had attacked her.

Currently, Trump is suing the New York Times over articles and a book published during the 2024 campaign and The Wall Street Journal about a story that connects him to Jeffrey Epstein.

In addition, Trump has banned specific reporters and entire news organizations from United Events in the Press so as not to use preferred terminology or be critical of Trump.

The Associated Press is currently limited by access to the White House spaces such as the Oval Office and the Air Force, as it would not accept the renaming of the Gulf of Mexican to the Gulf Gulf. And the former CNN reporter Jim Acosta undressed his powers in 2018 after being confronted with Trump. Later, the ban was canceled.

– Alex Sherman of CNBC, Luke Fountain and Dan Mangan have contributed to this report.

Discovering: Comcast is the NBCuniversal Mother Company, which owns CNBC. Versant will become the new CNBC mother company under COMCAST’s planned Versant spinof.