As Jimmy Kimmel is set to return to late-night television, it's become even more apparent that all the outrage over his short-lived suspension was nothing more than political theatre.
Earlier, we told you how Sinclair, which controls over three dozen ABC affiliates, is refusing to air Kimmel's show.
Now, California State Senator Scott Wiener is vowing to punish Sinclair for not bending the knee and airing the wildly unpopular Jimmy Kimmel Show.
Can’t wait to break Sinclair up. Corporate media consolidation doesn’t jibe with democracy. And although Sinclair isn’t a fan of democracy, most people are. https://t.co/hN77Uiroir
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) September 23, 2025
In what world is refusing to air a late-night show that has horrible ratings, featuring a guy who despises half the country, a threat to democracy?
We just spent the past week hearing Leftists like Wiener tell us suspending Kimmel was fascism. That the Trump administration had no right to dictate what ABC aired or didn't air.
Guess that was a lie.
Now it's good for the government to punish media companies for their programming decisions?
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) September 23, 2025
Democrats always believed it was good for the government to regulate media companies and punish them for their programming decisions. Barack Obama used his DOJ to go after Fox News and reporter James Rosen. In 2023, the Biden FCC threatened to pull the license of a Philadelphia Fox affiliate over Fox News coverage of the 2020 election.
As always, it's (D)ifferent when they do it.
This is one reason it should be the work of conservatives to foreclose the ability to censor through "independent" agencies. Your ideological foes are falling over themselves to do it to you. The other reason, less compelling of course, is that censorship is morally wrong. https://t.co/AngJohokjK
— Zach Lilly (@ZacharyLeeLee) September 23, 2025
Yes, censorship is wrong. The Trump administration did not censor Jimmy Kimmel, nor did they censor Stephen Colbert -- who will remain on television until May. Kimmel was suspended for his remarks, as well as his refusal to apologize and tone down the rhetoric. When -- not if -- his show is canceled, it will be for the same reasons as Colbert's: bad ratings that are costing his network lots of money.
Meanwhile, Democrats like Scott Wiener openly announce they plan to attack a private business for not doing their bidding. In the name of "democracy."