Barack Obama Calls Jimmy Kimmel Suspension a ‘New and Dangerous…

Barack Obama called out President Donald Trump and his administration after the “indefinite” pause of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show.

In a tweet on Thursday, the former president shared a link to a Vox story on the subject and wrote, “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 continued: “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 to it.”

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. https://t.co/uts7JpJZzN
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 18, 2025

ABC announced on Wednesday evening that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be paused “indefinitely” after right-wingers said the host incorrectly described the politics of Tyler Robinson, the accused shooter in the murder of Charlie Kirk, an outspoken white nationalist who called the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a mistake and trafficked in racially motivated conspiracy theories.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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 on Monday night’s broadcast.

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, thanked Nexstar, an owner of ABC affiliate stations around the country, for “doing the right thing” by threatening to pull Kimmel’s show.

“Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest,” he said on X. “While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values.”

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