President Donald Trump weighed in on the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel from ABC on Thursday, posting on social media that it was bad ratings plus comments about Charlie Kirk that got him canned.
Kimmel "was fired because he had bad ratings, more than anything else," Trump said on X, acknowledging that Kimmel's insensitive comments about the death of Charlie Kirk were another factor in his show's removal.
.@POTUS: "@jimmykimmel was fired because he had bad ratings, more than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk... Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person... and they should've fired him a long time ago." pic.twitter.com/4PVhcHkIzr
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 18, 2025
"Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person... and they should have fired him months ago," Trump concluded.
Kimmel has not actually been fired, just suspended, but his future in late-night TV at ABC is very much in doubt.
The show was taken off the air after two major local broadcasting groups, Nextstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcasting Group, said they would not continue to air Kimmel's show after the remarks.
There was considerable public outcry about them, and ABC quickly realized that it would have trouble on its hands if it didn't capitulate.
There were also some vague threats by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, but those do not seem to have been a major factor in what happened.
If Kimmel is willing to own up to what he did and grovel a bit, he can get back on the air.
Nextstar is demanding an apology and a donation to Turning Point USA, Kirk's organization.
But don't hold your breath, because Kimmel is said to be fighting mad about ABC's action to remove the show and was prepared to double down on his remarks before that happened.
If Kimmel would rather dig in his heels than commit to a mea culpa, well, that may be the end of his show on ABC forever.
Maybe an even more left-wing outlet will pick it up for streaming or broadcast the show on a niche channel, but the viewership will probably be even smaller than the dismal ratings it had before.
I mean, who really watches late-night TV anymore anyway? There are way more interesting things to do at 11:30 at night in the age of the internet and streaming.
