"Despite Trump's call, the move to pull Kimmel off the air was not just a network decision: it was driven by a revolt from Nexstar and Sinclair, companies that control dozens of ABC affiliate stations, only hours after Kimmel's controversial show aired. Disney-owned ABC responded by suspending Jimmy Kimmel Live! Indefinitely. "This was one of the fastest exertions of station power I've ever seen," Thompson said."
"Trump used the suspension - which happened after an ABC affiliate revolt over Kimmel's criticisms of conservatives' response to the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk - to double down on his feud with late-night television broadly, targeting Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers as "two total losers." "Their ratings are also horrible," Trump posted on his platform, TruthSocial. "Do it NBC!!!""
ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely after affiliate stations Nexstar and Sinclair refused to air Kimmel's episode, which criticized conservatives' response to the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk. The affiliates' revolt occurred only hours after the controversial show aired and prompted Disney-owned ABC to pull the program. President Donald Trump praised ABC, falsely claimed the show was cancelled, and attacked other late-night hosts. Media scholar Robert Thompson said the suspension cannot be explained by ratings and noted the unusually fast exertion of station power. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called the affiliates' refusal a turning point and unprecedented for legacy media.
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