As the nation mourns the death of one of the most popular and influential conservative activists in the country at the hands of an alleged left-wing assassin and processes the gravity of Google’s admission that the company engaged is mass censorship of the Right during the COVID-19 pandemic at the behest of the Biden administration, Democrats and the press have decided that the most pressing issue facing the republic was the brief suspension of late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel.
“It was pretty much the most direct infringement by the government on free speech that I’ve seen in my lifetime,” CNN’s Jake Tapper said. Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, called the Federal Communications Commission’s perceived pressure on Disney “North Korea-style stuff,” and Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) claimed that Kimmel’s suspension proved that “democracy is being taken away.”
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CHARLIE KIRK’S PRODUCER DISMISSES KIMMEL’S EXPLANATION: ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’
The reason for Kimmel’s suspension is the same reason that Democrats reacted in such a ridiculous and unhinged manner. Kirk’s alleged killer is a leftist in a relationship with a transgender partner, and Kimmel lied to his audience, claiming that the shooter was “MAGA.” Knowing that Tyler Robinson is one of their ideological bedfellows, Democrats and journalists were looking for any opportunity to move on to another news cycle.
Sure, members of the Trump administration added fuel to the fire by gloating over the decision by Disney and ABC, but it turned out that Kimmel’s few days in the time-out chair were a simple business decision. Sinclair and Nexstar, who own a combined 70 ABC affiliates, mostly in rural or heavily Republican areas, wisely refused to air the failing show, and any broadcaster would make the decision to sideline a host if a quarter of stations refuse to air his program. Time will tell what will happen to Jimmy Kimmel Live! going forward, as both companies have decided to continue preempting the program.
Kimmel returned Tuesday night, and while he did offer kind words for Erika Kirk and her decision to put her deep Christian faith into practice by forgiving her husband’s killer, he stopped short of apologizing and failed to correct the record.
“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. … For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. … I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone,” the host said. “This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution, and it isn’t. Ever.”
Kimmel’s decision to lie on behalf of Democrats and the Left’s decision to attempt to turn him into a free speech martyr were shortsighted and will fail in their mission to muddy the water and turn the nation’s attention away from left-wing domestic terrorism. Kimmel’s show, as of August, averages just 1.1 million viewers, and Turning Point USA claims that Kirk’s memorial service reached 100 million viewers across all platforms. Rational people will never believe that a comic being suspended for a few days over insensitive comments and lies is more of an assault on the First Amendment than a political commentator being murdered on camera while engaging in free speech on a college campus.
Of course, the Trump administration’s too-online gloating and the empty threats from the president on Truth Social give Democrats leeway to complain about censorship, but people know that the Left is far more inclined to censorship than the Right.
TRUMP’S FASCIST TAKEOVER OF THE FCC LASTED FIVE DAYS
Real censorship looks like every social media platform shutting down the New York Post’s completely accurate reporting on Hunter Biden to swing the 2020 election. The Biden White House’s direct collusion with Facebook and Google to shut down conservative speech had far more of an effect on the right to free speech than any of the sins, real or imagined, by Chairman Brendan Carr’s FCC.
If getting a failing late-night host suspended for less than a week is the greatest attack on freedom that the Trump administration can muster, perhaps it is not as fascist as we have been told.
Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a musician, political strategist, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.