President Donald Trump slapped down Democrats who are crying about Jimmy Kimmel’s show being suspended after he lied about the individual suspected of assassinating Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk.
Trump discussed Kimmel’s predicament while speaking with reporters. “Mr. President, back in 2020, 2021, you were banned from Twitter, Facebook, basically every single platform on God's green earth, sir,” one of the reporters began. “And now, many people on the left want to throw out cries about First Amendment claims after Jimmy Kimmel's show was canceled. Do you find it hypocritical, sir, after what they did to you?”
Trump replied, “I did his show before I ran for politics. I did his show many times, and he was never one of the top people.”
The president continued, noting that Kimmel’s performance was substandard. “Do you remember during the Academy Awards when he read my truth just before giving out the best picture award? And what he read was that he's the worst host in the history of the Academy,” Trump said. “Look, Jimmy Kimmel suffers from two things. First of all, he said a terrible thing about Charlie, but he also suffers from the fact that he's got no talent and he's got no ratings. A deadly combination. That's deadly.”
"He's got no talent and he's got no ratings."
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 22, 2025
President Trump calls out the hypocrisy of Democrats complaining about free speech violations following Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from ABC. pic.twitter.com/tkRMhRVBt2
The controversy erupted when Kimmel falsely claimed on his show that the individual who allegedly killed Kirk was a right-winger, a fact that his own family and other evidence disputed.
Democrats slammed the Trump administration when the FCC commissioner appeared to threaten Disney and ABC over the Kimmel issue. ABC chose to suspend Kimmel’s show shortly after. However, it is also true that Kimmel’s show has not performed well over the years. Its ratings fell by about 40 percent since 2015, which could have had a bigger influence on the network’s decision.
NBC News interviewed several Charlie Kirk supporters about Kimmel’s suspension. One pointed out that Kirk “lost his life, where Jimmy Kimmel is just suspended from a job.”
Another indicated that the FCC commissioner’s role in the matter “is kind of stepping on the First Amendment right.”
“Jimmy Kimmel was just suspended from a job, and that’s not because of free speech,” another supporter explained. “That’s because he was lying — you know, about the killer being MAGA — when we all knew that that wasn’t the case.”
One individual noted that “he was also let go because his ratings are atrocious.”
Yet another affirmed that Kimmel still has the right to fre speech. However, “if you do it at your job, your employer has the right to dismiss you.”
Television legend Pat Boone made a similar point recently. “Speak your views publicly in the streets without fear. But don’t expect to be paid millions when you bite the hand that feeds you,” he said in a TikTok video.
Disney and Kimmel were reportedly in talks to see if they could reach an agreement that would bring Kimmel’s show back on the air. It was later confirmed that Kimmel will be returning to the airwaves. However, Sinclair Broadcast Group, which controls several ABC affiliates, indicated that it will refuse to air Kimmel's show on its networks.