The president of the United States, Donald Trump, welcomed the suspension of the presenter of Night Interviews Jimmy Kimmel, deepening a fierce debate about freedom of expression and government pressure on the media.
Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live, was taken from the air indefinitely by ABC after commenting on right -wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead at an event at the University of Utah on September 10.
During his initial monologue on Monday, Kimmel criticized Trump’s allies for “scoring political points” for Kirk’s murder, attracting a violent reaction from conservatives.
He also made fun of Trump’s public response, saying: “This is not how an adult regrets the murder of someone who called a friend. This is how a four -year -old boy cries a golden fish.”
Trump, speaking during a state visit to Great Britain, cheered the move, describing Kimmel as without bad grades. “He said something horrible about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk … He was fired due to lack of talent,” the president told journalists.
According to Reuters, ABC’s decision followed the warnings of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about Kimmel’s comment, as well as the threats of the main Nexstar and Sinclair local stations to stop issuing the program unless the comedian apologized to Kirk’s family.
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The suspension has caused indignation among the Democrats, the Hollywood unions and the defenders of freedom of expression. The former president of the United States, Barack Obama, condemned the action as censorship instigated by the Government, warning that the Trump administration was assembling regulatory threats to silence critics.
“This is a new dangerous level of cancellation of culture,” Obama said, urging media companies not to lean to political coercion.
The writers and actors unions, together with Pen America, echoed the feeling, calling for the suspension an attack on the rights of the first amendment. The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, also demanded that Trump Fire president of the FCC, Brendan Carr, described him as a great threat to freedom of expression.
The controversy occurs in the midst of a broader Trump pattern aimed at media and critics from his return to the White House in January. Recently, he filed a demand for defamation of $ 15 billion against the New York Times and hinted that the networks “97% against me” could lose their licenses.
Meanwhile, a 22 -year -old university student has been accused of Kirk’s murder, a murder that has polarized public opinion about the controversial legacy of the conservative activist.
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