Canceling ‘Jimmy Kimmel’: Beef with Trump was years in the making

It’s only been five days since “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was pulled from the air indefinitely after the late-night host made remarks about slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

But giving Kimmel the boot has been years in the making for President Trump, according to my colleagues Stephen Battaglio and Meg James. The president, along with his Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, seems to have successfully intimidated the owners of broadcast TV stations in a way we’ve never seen before.

First, it was Paramount Global’s agreement to pay $16 million to settle Trump’s legal battle against CBS News over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with his 2024 opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

Then the president extracted a $15-million settlement from ABC in a defamation lawsuit over George Stephanopoulos’ inaccurate on-air statement that Trump had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.

Kimmel’s firing appears to be tied to Nexstar Media Group — which controls 32 ABC affiliates — needing FCC approval for its proposed $6.2-billion acquisition of rival station operator Tegna.

That the intimidation tactics spread to late-night TV is unsurprising given that commentary on the Trump administration in that time slot has long been a source of tension.

First Colbert, then Kimmel

Before Kimmel’s ouster, CBS announced in July that “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” would end in May, with sources citing financial losses. Just days earlier, Colbert had blasted Paramount’s settlement with Trump, calling it a bribe.

As Stephen and Meg wrote, it’s extremely rare for networks to drop a show in response to political pressure. But in the Trump era of cancel culture, anything goes.

Trump celebrated the cancellation of Colbert’s “The Late Show” and called for even more late-night hosts to be axed.

“I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!”

The Kimmel vs. Trump beef goes way back

Kimmel found himself in hot water last week when he seemed to suggest during a monologue on his show that the Utah man accused in Charlie Kirk’s killing might have been a pro-Trump Republican.

He said MAGA supporters were “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.”

Tensions between the president and late-night host, however, date back to 2017, Stephen and Meg note, when Trump first moved into the White House and Kimmel poked fun at the new president from the Oscars stage.

Their rift widened during last year’s Oscars telecast when Trump posted a harsh review of Kimmel on Truth Social in real time, asking whether there had ever been a worse emcee.

Kimmel responded during the telecast by looking at the camera and saying: “Thank you for watching. I’m surprised you’re still — isn’t it past your jail time?”

Could ‘The View’ be next?

Just as Trump has called for Kimmel’s firing, he’s frequently gone after another ABC staple: “The View.”

Trump blasted the show during a campaign rally last year. “So I watched that stupid ‘View’ where you have these really dumb people,” Trump told the large crowd, which responded with boos.

The daytime talk show hosts’ response was blistering, leaning in to crimes the president has been accused of. It was in sharp contrast to last week’s hush on “The View” about the Kimmel controversy.

My colleague Greg Braxton pointed out that the signature “Hot Topics” segment, which frequently blasts Trump, had gone cold as speculation escalated that the Trump administration was considering taking action against “The View.”

The FCC chairman has indicated that the show might be investigated to see whether it qualifies as a “bona fide news program,” which would exempt it from the agency’s equal time rule.

The week’s biggest stories

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been recruiting heavily.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

ICE offers big bucks — but California police officers prove tough to poach

• The Trump administration is offering hefty signing bonuses, student loan forgiveness and six-figure salaries to recruit ICE officers.
• But despite the generous compensation packages, experts said ICE was still coming up short in some of the places it needed agents the most.
• Although ICE pays far more in California than in most other states, cash alone is less likely to induce many local cops to swap their dress blues for fatigues and a neck gaiter.

L.A. wildfire cleanup was fast. Some worry officials chose speed over safety

• Federal agencies say the L.A. wildfire cleanup was an unprecedented success, with nearly 9,700 properties cleared in eight months.
• But critics worry workers sacrificed safety for the sake of speed, with a significant number of supposedly cleaned properties still containing elevated levels of lead.
• Property owners now face costly soil testing and possible remediation before rebuilding on potentially contaminated land.

LGBTQ+ candidates step up amid threats to queer rights

• A growing number of LGBTQ+ candidates are running for office at a time when many on the right and in the Trump administration are working aggressively to push queer people out of the American mainstream.
• They say they are running to counter that effort but also to resist other administration policies that they believe threaten democracy and equality more broadly, to advocate around local issues that are important to them and their neighbors.
• Candidates say they are aware of the risks of running for office at such a volatile political moment.

What else is going on

Commentary and opinions

This morning’s must read

Another must read

For your downtime

(Photo illustration by Jim Cooke; Source photo via Getty Images)

Going out

Staying in

And finally … your photo of the day

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo, from Times photographer Juliana Yamada, was taken at the Silver Lake home of an L.A. producer, writer and director who installed a video store in his kitchen with more than 250 titles.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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