US President Donald Trump has reiterated his demand that Walt Disney-owned ABC News fire late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel over his recent comments about US First Lady Melania Trump.
“When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the Lowest Rated shows on Television?,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“People are angry. It better be soon,” he added.
Trump vs Kimmel
Both Trump and Melania have demanded that over a monologue he delivered prior to a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington last week.
What Jimmy Kimmel said
On last Thursday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, the late-night host did a send-up of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, joking that First Lady Melania Trump had “a glow like an expectant widow.”
On Monday, Kimmel clarified that the joke had been misconstrued and was not a “call to assassination” but a comment on the age difference between Trump, who will be 80 in June, and his wife, who turned 56 this month.
FCC jumps in to target ABC
However, Kimmel once again found himself on the wrong side with Trump, who has called for his removal from the network. The US Federal Communications Commission has also ordered an early review of ABC local station broadcast licences.
The early review of broadcast licences is considered as an extraordinary move against the network whose programming has often angered the president.
“Disney’s ABC is hereby directed to file license renewals for all of their licensed TV stations within 30 days – in other words, by May 28, 2026,” the FCC order published Tuesday read.
The covers eight channels of the network and is related to an ongoing investigation into the network’s diversity initiatives.
Though the networks’ licences are not up for renewal, the FCC cited rules to assert its to call for early renewal for proper conduct of the investigation.
“Doing so both allows the FCC to conduct its ongoing investigation and enables the FCC to ensure that the broadcaster has been meeting its public interest obligations more broadly,” the FCC said.
What Disney said
In a statement, Disney said “ABC and its stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities with trusted news, emergency information, and public‑interest programming.”
“We are confident that record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels,” the broadcaster said.
Trump vs Kimmel over Charlie Kirk assassination
Last year, the Trump administration and the FCC forced ABC to suspend Kimmel’s show indefinitely after his remarks over the killing of conservative activist . ABC revoked the suspension within a matter of days, and Kimmel’s show was back on air even after some of its local affiliates, owned by Sinclair and Nexstar initially refused to broadcast it.
- The FCC’s unprecedented early review of ABC’s broadcast licenses adds pressure on the network amid political backlash.
- Jimmy Kimmel’s comedic style continues to ignite controversies, emphasizing the risks comedians face in political satire.
- Trump’s public demand for Kimmel’s firing reflects the ongoing conflict between media and political figures in the current era.
