Free speech storm intensifies as Trump goes after Kimmel

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5513095-trump-administration-pressures-abc-kimmel

The Trump administration’s pressure campaign against ABC and Jimmy Kimmel, which saw the Federal Communications Commission chief turn up the heat on broadcasters, is intensifying fears over the policing of speech — which were already rising before this week’s late night television uproar.

“I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said. I am thrilled that he was fired,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Friday on his podcast. “But let me tell you, if the government gets in the business of saying ‘we don’t like what you the media have said, we’re going to ban you from the airwaves, if you don’t say what we like,’ that will end up bad for conservatives.”

“Private employers have every right to dismiss employees, whether they’re television talk show hosts or otherwise, if they violate the standards of that company,” Pence said at an event hosted by The Atlantic. “Now, I would have preferred that the chairman of the FCC had not weighed in.”

“This is not a role for the federal government or the chairman of the FCC to be playing,” said Tom Wheeler, who was FCC chair under former President Obama, during a CNN appearance on Friday. “The danger here is authoritarian control of the media. The FCC for 90 years has promoted diversity of thought and now the Trump, Carr FCC is coming in and saying they’ll be the judge of what those views should be.” 

Sen. Mark Warner (R-Va.) shared a clip from Cruz’s podcast in which the Texas Republican said Carr’s threats against ABC were “right out of ‘Goodfellas.’”

“I don’t often agree with Ted Cruz, but when he’s right, he’s right,” Warner said.

CDC advisers vote to restrict MMRV vaccine options for younger children, delay vote on hepatitis B vaccine

 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cdc-advisers-dropping-universal-newborn-hepatitis-vaccine/story?id=125713736

The committee was not considering eliminating or recommending against either the MMRV or hepatitis B vaccines completely. But the changes that have been proposed could result in major disruptions and more illness, experts warned.

Experts say these changes could also cause confusion, more doctors' appointments and more individual shots for children, which could potentially lead to missed cases or more infections. It could also complicate vaccine supply and manufacturing logistics.

"The disadvantage of giving two doses, or as was suggested, separating the two doses, is that we know compliance falls, and the advantage of combination vaccines is that children and adults are more likely to complete the vaccine requirements if it's given as a single dose," said ACIP member Dr. Cody Meissner.

Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension raises fears of a new censorship era

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2025/09/18/jimmy-kimmel-suspension-celebrities-react

Kimmel’s suspension was announced hours after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr criticized the comedian and implied that the FCC could retaliate against those who aired him.

Trump, who has complained about being the target of Kimmel’s jokes since long before Kirk’s death, reacted with glee to the show getting pulled.

Later, at a news conference as he visited England, Trump downplayed concerns about censorship. He said Kimmel was “fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else,” and added: “you can call that free speech or not.”

Later, at a news conference as he visited England, Trump downplayed concerns about censorship. He said Kimmel was “fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else,” and added: “you can call that free speech or not.”

And still later, as he flew home on Air Force One on Thursday, Trump suggested networks that give him bad publicity should “maybe” have their licenses taken away. (The FCC regulates local TV station licenses, not networks.)

Kimmel’s ratings were reportedly falling before his suspension. But the biggest owner of ABC-affiliated stations, Nexstar, did not cite ratings in a statement explaining why it pulled his show. The company instead blasted Kimmel’s “offensive and insensitive” comments about Kirk’s death, and said that “continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time.

Trump on Jimmy Kimmel: Networks that only criticize him ‘not allowed to do that’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5510784-trump-jimmy-kimmel-criticism

President Trump on Thursday suggested networks and late-night shows in particular should not be allowed to be overwhelmingly critical of him in the wake of ABC’s decision to take host Jimmy Kimmel off the air.

“They’re 97 percent against; they give me only bad press. I mean, they’re getting a license,” he continued. “I would think maybe their license should be taken away.”

The FCC, Disney and Jimmy Kimmel

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/fcc-disney-jimmy-kimmel-brendan-carr-media-regulation-197bdf0a?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

The right gives the left a dose of cancel culture and regulatory abuse.

Maybe now our progressive friends understand why these columns oppose government control of business and fought liberal cancel culture. Regulatory power in the hands of a willful President can too easily become a weapon against political opponents, including the media.

That’s what happened Wednesday as Brendan Carr, President Trump’s man at the Federal Communications Commission, threatened Disney and its affiliates if they didn’t punish late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for comments about Charlie Kirk. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Mr. Carr told a podcaster, in words that could have been uttered by a New Jersey mob boss.

Jawboning and Jimmy Kimmel

 https://www.thefp.com/p/jawboning-and-jimmy-kimmel-free-speech-censorship?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

The host appears to have been so isolated in his Bluesky bubble that he actually believed that Tyler Robinson was a man of the right when all the evidence suggests just the opposite. If ABC on its own had fired the host for clueless material, that would have been entirely within their rights.

But that is not what happened. Instead, Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr went on Benny Johnson’s YouTube show and offered Disney-owned ABC a choice. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” said the country’s top regulator of broadcast television. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

This is what’s known as jawboning—when state actors use threats to inappropriately compel private action. That’s an awfully nice broadcasting license you have there, Bob Iger. Shame if anything happens to it because of your Jimmy Kimmel problem.

Trump’s anti-media blitz that led to Kimmel’s suspension is straight from a European strongman’s playbook

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/18/media/trump-fcc-kimmel-free-speech-viktor-orban-hungary

Weaponize the levers of government for partisan political gain. Pressure privately owned media companies to toe the party line. Punish the owners who resist and reward the ones who acquiesce.

That’s how Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán consolidated control of the media in his country, according to scholars who witnessed Hungary’s democratic backsliding firsthand.

President Trump and his allies appear to be running the same playbook against media outlets in the US.

Using legal maneuvers, financial incentives and public pressure campaigns, Trump is persuading companies to make changes that benefit his party and bolster his own power. Wednesday’s decision by Disney’s ABC to sideline Jimmy Kimmel is the latest example.

"Lawrence: Trump wants us to talk about Jimmy Kimmel. So we'll talk about Trump & Jeffrey Epstein

Everything is Over

See Trump's free speech failure: Melber's definitive breakdown

Pam Bondi Defends 'Hate Speech' Crackdown After MAGA Backlash

 https://www.newsweek.com/bondi-charlie-kirk-hate-speech-maga-2130526

Savanah Hernandez, a contributor to Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization founded by Kirk, had hit back at Bondi's previous comments.

"'There's free speech and then there's hate speech' is the most destructive phrase that has ever been uttered," Hernandez said in a post on X. "And Pam Bondi just said it. She needs to be removed as attorney general now."

Charlie Kirk's Own Words on Hate Speech Used Against Pam Bondi

 https://www.newsweek.com/charlie-kirks-own-words-hate-speech-used-against-pam-bondi-2130647

Mehdi Hasan, who formerly hosted a show on MSNBC, responded to comments by Bondi with a screenshot of an X post by Kirk, in which the conservative posted, "Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There's ugly speech. There's gross speech. There's evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free."

Cruz says First Amendment ‘absolutely protects hate speech’ in wake of Charlie Kirk killing

 https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/16/cruz-says-first-amendment-absolutely-protects-hate-speech-in-wake-of-charlie-kirk-killing-00566448

“The First Amendment absolutely protects speech,” Cruz said Tuesday at POLITICO’s AI & Tech Summit in Washington. “It absolutely protects hate speech. It protects vile speech. It protects horrible speech. What does that mean? It means you cannot be prosecuted for speech, even if it is evil and bigoted and wrong.”

Trump's supporters

 Garnel IronheartSeptember 17, 2025 at 8:20 PM

Trump is doing exactly what he claims was done against him. Yes, absolutely true.

And if you supported it when it was being done against him, you're a hypocrite for opposing it now.

The only relevant issue is whether you approve Trump's violation of the law not whether he should be permitted to seek revenge against imagined mistreatment. We should cancel future elections because he claims he was unfairly defeated! We should end impeachment because he claims the charges against him were phony. We should cancel all prosecution for fraud and rape because he claims he was wrongly convicted ?! Et cetra et cetra