The Grave Threat Posed by Donald Trump's Attack on Jimmy Kimmel

"Some viewers accused Kimmel of erroneously suggesting that Kirk's alleged shooter was MAGA, which Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, called "some of the sickest conduct possible." Hours before the suspension was announced, Carr raised the idea of punishing local television stations that continued to air Kimmel's show. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said."

"The President and his allies are using the power of the state to silence speech they dislike. Kimmel's suspension was the latest in a string of attacks by the Trump Administration on media outlets, and especially on broadcast television networks. Disney, which owns ABC, and Paramount, which owns CBS, had already settled two frivolous lawsuits (for defamation and deceptive editing, respectively) that Trump brought against them."

"To talk about Kimmel's suspension, and more broadly about authoritarian leaders and their response to comedy, I called Michael Idov, a novelist and filmmaker who ran GQ Russia between 2012 and 2014, and wrote and directed the 2019 film "The Humorist," about a fictional comedian in the late Soviet era. (Idov's most recent novel is " The Collaborators.") During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed the similarities and differences"

ABC indefinitely suspended Jimmy Kimmel after a monologue referencing the Trump Administration and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, provoking accusations that Kimmel implied the alleged shooter was MAGA. FCC chair Brendan Carr condemned the monologue and suggested punishing local stations that aired the show, warning regulators could act "the easy way or the hard way." The suspension follows broader pressure on broadcast networks: Disney and Paramount settled lawsuits brought by Trump, and CBS News has made changes urged by regulators. Trump suggested revoking broadcast licenses of networks that employ late-night hosts critical of him. Michael Idov compared authoritarian responses to comedy and culture.

Read at The New Yorker