Late night talk show hosts warned about the future of free speech in the U.S. on Thursday, a day after ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel's show off the air under pressure from the Trump administration.
Kimmel's comments on Monday night about the suspect in Charlie Kirk's killing angered the administration. The late night host, who had called the murder "senseless" after it happened, said on his show Monday night, "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."
By Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr was threatening ABC owner Disney, saying on a podcast, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." That night, ABC said it had pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air indefinitely.
President Trump suggested other late night TV should be pulled as well.
"That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!" Trump posted on Truth Social.
On Thursday, Seth Meyers said on his show that the president was cracking down on free speech.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert gave scathing monologues about the state of free expression in the U.S.
"We all see where this is going, correct?" late night veteran David Letterman said onstage at The Atlantic Festival in New York City. "You can't go around firing somebody because you're fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian — a criminal — administration in the Oval Office. That's just not how this works."
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Fresh off of an Emmy win last weekend, Stephen Colbert said, "Tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel."
"If ABC thinks this is going to satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive."
CBS announced earlier this summer that Colbert's own show would end next year, for what it said were purely financial reasons. That announcement came just as CBS owner Paramount sought federal approval for its own merger with Skydance. That sale was approved after Colbert announced that this season would be his last.
Another merger is in the spotlight after Kimmel's suspension: On Wednesday, FCC chair Carr warned broadcast stations and ABC's parent company, Disney, about carrying Kimmel's show. Nexstar Media Group, which operates ABC stations around the U.S., announced that they were pulling the program not long after Carr's comments. Nexstar needs FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with the media company TEGNA.
"A company apparently capitulating to the whims of the president in order to ensure their merger goes through? Has that ever happened before?" Colbert laughed on Thursday night. "I'm being told not to answer that question."
The Daily Show
"We have another fun, hilarious, administration compliant show," Stewart joked at the top of the show in a rare midweek appearance.
He sarcastically praised Trump's visit to the U.K., saying that Trump "dazzled his hosts."
Later he continued, "Now, some naysayers may argue that this administration's speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy, a thin gruel of a ruse, a smokescreen to obscure an unprecedented consolidation of power and unitary intimidation, principleless and coldly antithetical to any experiment in a constitutional republic governance. Some people would say that."
"Not me, though — I think it's great."
Late Night With Seth Meyers
Seth Meyers said on his show Thursday that Trump's administration is "pursuing a crackdown on free speech."
"And completely unrelated," Meyers joked, "I just want to say, before we get started here, that I've always admired and respected Mr. Trump. I've always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, an even better golfer. And if you've ever seen me say anything negative about him, that's just AI."
Later, his tone was earnest: "It is a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way that it's a privilege and honor to do this show every night. I wake up every day, I count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech. And we're going to keep doing our show the way we've always done it — with enthusiasm and integrity."
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Fallon struck an earnest tone, too, noting that "a lot of people" were worried that "we'll be censored."
A voice off screen praised the president, saying Trump is "restoring our national reputation."
"To be honest with you all, I don't know what's going on, and no one does," Fallon said. But I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he's a decent, funny, and loving guy, and I hope he comes back."
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