LOS ALAMITOS, Calif — “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.”

This statement was posted by President Donald Trump on Sept. 17 on the social media service Truth Social, an app Trump’s team developed after his Twitter, now X, ban, which has been lifted since the creation of Truth Social.

Trump posted this immediately after Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was indefinitely put on hiatus by the American Broadcasting Company. This hiatus was put into effect because of the comments made by Kimmel during his monologue on his Sept. 15 show. His comments were directed towards the assassination of Charlie Kirk, specifically on the assassin’s seemingly strong conservative upbringing. 

“(Make America Great Again) gang is desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” said Kimmel.

The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, claims Kimmel was intentionally misleading the people that Kirk’s shooter was a conservative, Republican, Trump supporter. However, police evidence indicates the shooter engaged with liberal ideology online. Though the FCC did not do anything officially to suspend Kimmel, the American Broadcasting Company, ABC, has received pressure from the FCC to address Kimmel’s comments regarding the late Kirk, threatening the network’s business.

Following the cancellation, those with all political beliefs came together to stand up for Jimmy Kimmel, seeing Kimmel’s suspension as a direct violation of American citizens’ constitutional rights. Among those standing up for Kimmel are his fellow talk-show hosts: Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert. They were also mentioned in Trump’s Truth Social post.

“Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News (National Broadcasting Company). Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!” President Trump said.

Stephen Colbert’s show, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, announced in July of 2025 that it will stop running after May of 2026. The Colombia Broadcasting System, CBS, has claimed that the show has been cancelled due to financial issues, but many people speculate that Colbert’s constant criticism of President Trump also played a role. 

Altogether, the general public has protested the infringement of free speech, marking the ban as an extreme act of censorship. Others believe that the ban was nothing more than a punishment for Kimmel’s controversial comments. No matter how this is perceived, the ban put in place was an obvious abuse of power and serves as a warning for media censorship. 

On Sept. 22, Disney and ABC announced “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will be returning to air on Tuesday, the 23. Disney’s statement read that the suspension was because Kimmel’s comments were “ill-timed” and “insensitive,” and they were trying to de-escalate the situation.

“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back…Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE,” said President Trump on Truth Social, expressing his blatant distaste of Kimmel’s return. 

In his first monologue after returning to the air, Kimmel expressed how he never intended to make light of Kirk’s death and he understands how it was perceived by some that he did. Additionally, Kimmel shared how he received love and support from fans and critics alike, from Colbert to Candice Owens – admiring the courage of all the citizens who have spoken out on this event, Kimmel asserted that it is absolutely necessary to stand up against all infringements of free speech.