Analysis: Kimmel suspension shows how Trump is unapologetically embracing the heavy hand of government – CNN Politics

What Kimmel shows: Trump is unapologetically embracing the heavy hand of government

Analysis byAaron Blake, 2 hr ago

So, it appears this is the satire, wit, and humor that got Kimmel taken off the air: “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.

President Donald Trump arrives by helicopter in Aylesbury, England, on September 18.Leon Neal / Getty Images

ABC’s decision to sideline Jimmy Kimmel amid pressure from the Trump administration has led to all kinds of predictable whataboutism from those defending it.

What about the time the Biden administration urged social media companies to remove Covid-19 misinformation, which critics argued carried an implied threat of government retribution? What about when the IRS under Barack Obama targeted conservative groups? Isn’t turnabout fair play?

There are a couple very important differences, though.

One is that that the Trump administration has been extraordinarily brazen about its efforts to pressure and threaten ABC. There’s no real subtlety to it at all.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr said Kimmel’s comments appeared to be “some of the sickest conduct possible” and warned ABC could lose its broadcast license if it didn’t move against the talkshow host.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” Carr told podcaster Benny Johnson before Kimmel’s suspension.

The other difference is that the administration appears … quite eager to take credit. Though President Donald Trump on Thursday cast ABC’s decision as being about ratings, he and the FCC chair haven’t exactly disowned their role to avoid looking like Big Brother cracking down on disfavored speech. Rather, they have celebrated Kimmel’s suspension and seemed to embrace the idea that they were instrumental in getting him off the air.

This has become a trend. Over and over again, Trump and his administration have shrugged off concerns about weaponizing the government against his critics and hailed their ability to bring institutions like Disney’s ABC to heel.

They seem to desire the strongman narrative – even if it means opening themselves up to criticism that they’re weaponizing the government in exactly the way they always talk about their opponents doing.

The confluence of events Wednesday was remarkable.

Despite some efforts on the right to pretend this was just ABC responding to organic market forces, Carr essentially laid the roadmap.

Jimmy Kimmel performs onstage at an event in Las Vegas on February 22. Bryan Steffy /Getty Images

The controversy began after Kimmel made a joke Monday about Trump’s response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

“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.

Kimmel also joked that Trump didn’t appear particularly sad in the aftermath of Kirk’s death.

Carr zeroed in on Kimmel’s comment about the “MAGA gang,” saying the host appeared to be trying to “play into that narrative that this was somehow a MAGA or Republican motivated person” — something that was unfounded at the time and has been has been undermined by new evidence. He set about seeking very specific action.

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