“After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict free expression, I also will sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America,” said President Donald Trump during his inaugural address.

Nine months later, Trump has gone back on his word and decided that government censorship is critical to his administration.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Trump’s administration have made it clear that they have a vendetta against media personalities that don’t align with their agenda. The latest casualty of this free speech crusade is Jimmy Kimmel.

Brendan Carr, chairman of the FCC, has decided that the fundamental American right of free speech is now only a suggestion.

This isn’t just about networks firing people and removing shows, it’s about how the current administration uses its privilege and influence to control the actions of those networks. 

What’s going on in late night 

The first to feel this wave of government interference was Stephen Colbert after his parent company, CBS, decided it would not renew his show. This came amidst a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against CBS, which they settled.

Now, Kimmel is the latest victim of Trump versus late night comedy. 

On Monday, Kimmel said that conservatives are trying to shift blame for Charlie Kirk’s death, using it for political gain.

“The MAGA Gang is desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

He went on to criticize the way Trump answered a question from a reporter regarding how he’s doing after Kirk’s death. He responded by saying “very good” and then immediately changed the subject and started talking about a new renovation being done to the White House.

“This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called his friend,” Kimmel said. “This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”

This caused Kimmel to have his show pulled by ABC and its affiliates, Nexstar Media Groups and Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Both ABC and CBS have decided, instead of defending their employee’s free speech rights, they would rather get rid of them and bend the knee to an administration that will take millions from them through lawsuits.

Suspicious events

This sequence of events has raised questions about the extent to which this decision was guided by financial motivations rather than genuine outrage over Kimmel’s comments.

Nexstar, one of the biggest station owners in the U.S., is currently attempting to complete a merger with Tegna, a media giant. The nature itself is valued at $6.2 billion and requires the approval of the FCC, and for it to loosen longstanding ownership regulations. 

These include federal laws barring TV stations controlling 39% of American households, and guidelines on the total number of stations that can be owned in a single market.

Sinclair, ABC’s largest affiliate, asked Kimmel to issue an apology to Kirk’s family, and to make a “meaningful, personal donation” to both them and Turning Point USA, the conservative outreach group founded by Kirk.

“Regardless of ABC’s plans for the future of the program, Sinclair intends not to return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to our air until we are confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform,” Sinclair said.

It’s pretty clear that Nexstar and Sinclair both have gained something with getting rid of Kimmel. A decision not actually made out of actual reasons, but a decision made with billions of dollars on the line.

I find it disgusting that these groups rather grovel to the government then do what is right. Their priority is clearly not the people that work on these shows, not the audience that watches them and it definitely isn’t personalities like Kimmel; it’s whether or not Trump will be happy with their decisions so they can make millions.

This kind of behavior sets a dangerous precedent. When a government uses its power to silence those who disagree with it and companies blindly follow that abuse of power, the public’s right to free expression is jeopardized or, in this case, stripped altogether. 

The chilling effect of such tactics harm not only the people targeted, but also the broader democratic principles that keep the country in balance.

A threat to free speech 

Now, of course, ABC is a private company and reserves the right to cancel any show if they feel that it’s not meeting the company’s standards. That is not a violation of Kimmel’s First Amendment rights, whether or not the basis of his show’s cancellation is stupid.

But what is a violation of First Amendment rights when a government, like a presidential administration or the FCC, takes it upon themselves to pressure and sue networks to get their agenda across. 

Trump has now threatened to take Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon off the air too while also pursuing a $15 million lawsuit against the New York Times.

However, this is deeper than just late night talk shows. Trump has shown that free speech is only allowed when it comes from people who agree with him.

He toyed with the idea of sending the National Guard to Chicago to rid the city of crime while he used alarming rhetoric that can’t be viewed as anything but violence against the city.

“Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” Trump wrote on Truth Social post. 

In reality, Chicago had a rise in anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sentiment, and sending the National Guard was meant to stop protests. In response, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order that protects Chicago resident’s right to protest.

So, why waste resources? It could cost up to $1.6 million per day, which is paid by the tax payers, to have the National Guard deployed in Chicago.

Is it to rid crime or create peace? No.

Simply, the National Guard was put there to make people stop talking about things this administration considers different. It’s a fear tactic.

Taking comedians off of the air, deploying the National Guard without a valid reason and threatening to silence people who disagree or are critical of him isn’t what this country’s leader does. This is a great overreach that moves us all one step closer to a government that doesn’t honor its citizen’s rights.

This isn’t normal behavior. Like Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, this is “corrupt, despicable and spineless behavior.”

It’s very clear that taking Kimmel and Colbert off the air isn’t the end and I’m sure that more will not be renewed or outright cancelled because of pressure from the administration. 

At the end of the day, free speech isn’t a gift from the government — it’s a right that belongs to the people. Any administration that treats it otherwise doesn’t care about the people nor their rights of expression.