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.
It's worth noting that both Sinclair and Nexstar are known for their conservative political leanings. The uproar stems from comments Kimmel made during his monologues earlier in the week. "We had 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 with everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel said during Monday's monologue.