Critics fear crackdowns on free speech as Donald Trump escalating his campaign to reshaping the American media landscape. After late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, will media companies manage to protect other media personalities expressing their First Amendment rights?
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Donald Trump is reshaping the American media landscape, unleashing his long-standing grievances against an industry that has exercised its First Amendment right to criticize, satirise and mock him.
He's done so by extracting multimillion-dollar settlements, forcing companies into costly litigation and prompting changes to programming that isn’t to his liking.
Now, Trump seems to be escalating his campaign of censure and retaliation.
Clearly invigorated by successful efforts to push ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air for his comments on the death of Charlie Kirk, he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from his second UK state visit.
Trump said federal regulators should consider revoking broadcast licenses for networks that “give me only bad publicity.”
"I have read some place that the networks were 97 per cent against me, again, 97 per cent negative, and yet I won and easily [in last year's election]," said Trump, before adding: "They give me only bad publicity [and] press. I mean, they're getting a licence. I would think maybe their licence should be taken away."
“All they do is hit Trump,” he moaned. “They’re licensed! They’re not allowed to do that.”
We’ll let that sink in, as this is the US President seeking to curtail the free speech of his critics and clearly ignoring the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
They are allowed to do that. Constitutionally.
As former US president Barack Obama wrote on X yesterday: "After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like.”
He added in a subsequent post: "This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent, and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating it."
In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel had said the "MAGA gang" was "desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" and trying to "score political points from it".
Despite condemning the attack and Kimmel sending his "love" to the Kirk family in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, he was taken off the air.
Much like the cancelling of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Trump blamed “bad ratings" for Kimmel’s cancellation. However, not many are buying it and feel like he continues to weaponise the death of Charlie Kirk for his own political gains.
Adding to this impression are comments that Trump made in a post to Truth Social on the 29 July, following Colbert’s axing: “Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel, and then, a weak, and very insecure, Jimmy Fallon. The only real question is, who will go first?”
No one can say they weren’t warned... especially since Brendan Carr, Trump’s handpicked head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), issued a warning echoing Trump’s comments on Air Force One, only hours before Kimmel was suspended. Carr said: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
After Kimmel was suspended, his fellow late-night hosts have rallied around him.
Stephen Colbert condemned the cancellation as a "blatant assault on freedom of speech", while Jon Stewart satirized the situation by describing himself as a "patriotically obedient host" and his programme as "administration-compliant". He referred to Trump as "dear leader" before aptly introducing his guest Maria Ressa, a journalist and author of the book “How To Stand Up To A Dictator”.
As for Seth Meyers, he said: "Donald Trump is on his way back from a trip to the UK, while back here at home, his administration is pursuing a crackdown on free speech… and completely unrelated, I just wanted to say that I have always admired and respected Mr Trump.”
He continued by joking: “I have always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, and an even better golfer."
The Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild both condemned the suspension of Kimmel as a violation of constitutional free speech rights.
However, amid criticism that free speech is under attack, the question remains: Who is next?
Trump seems to know, as he posted on Truth Social yesterday: "Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. 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 NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT."
Considering Trump is using the apparatus of the federal government to pressure companies to reshape the public dialogue, let’s hope that, unlike the Disney-owned ABC, media companies like NBC can stand up for their host’s right to freely express themselves.
