ABC faces renewed backlash for Trump

President Donald Trump is reviving calls this week for DisneyABC-owned ABC has decided to pull comedian Jimmy Kimmel off the air in another test of late-night television during the Republican president’s second term.

Although this isn’t the first time Kimmel has faced backlash over an episodic monologue — his show was briefly suspended in September after broadcast station owners threatened to scuttle the show following comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — the renewed challenges now fall under new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro, who took office last month.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump called on ABC to fire the late-night host after he referred to the first lady as a “pregnant widow” during a comedy scene last week, days before an alleged assassination attempt during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Melania Trump said in a post on X that Kimmel’s comments were “hateful and violent rhetoric” and “intended to divide our country.” Shortly after, Trump posted on his Social Truth platform that Kimmel’s comments amounted to a “call for violence” and were “far beyond the bounds.”

In a later monologue Monday night, Kimmel addressed the backlash, saying the remark was a “joke about their age difference.” He added, “It is in no way a call for assassination. They know that.”

White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung said in an X post Tuesday that Kimmel should be “shunned” for “doubling down on that joke instead of doing the decent thing by apologizing.”

Disney representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The incident is the latest in a series of battles between Trump and legacy media — especially late-night TV shows — that have left the industry on shaky footing.

Back in September, broadcast station owners Nexstar and Sinclair They said they would pre-empt Kimmel’s show, and air other content instead during his time slot, after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr took issue with Kimmel’s comments about Kirk.

representatives for Nexstar and Sinclair He declined to comment on Kimmel’s latest comments.

Carr suggested in September that broadcast stations’ licenses were at risk of being revoked, sparking debate over First Amendment protections and the responsibility of national broadcasters like ABC to broadcast generally acceptable content.

Disney brought Kimmel’s late-night show back to air a few days after the comment, and Kimmel apologized for the comments on his first show.

But this back and forth could set a precedent if the Trump administration continues to put pressure on media companies.

On Tuesday, Semaphore reported that the FCC was preparing to review Disney’s streaming licenses, but cited a source as saying the timing had nothing to do with Kimmel’s monologue. Representatives for the FCC and Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this report.

last year, ParamountThe CBS-owned company announced it will end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” while the company waits for FCC approval of its merger with Skydance. The merger got the green light from regulators shortly after the announcement.

While Disney has said it has no plans for mergers or acquisitions in the near term, it has had some run-ins with the Trump administration.

In December 2024, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to Trump’s future presidential library in order to settle the president’s defamation lawsuit against the network and anchor George Stephanopoulos.

Last year, ABC News also cut ties with national correspondent Terry Moran after he called Trump and senior White House adviser Stephen Miller “world-class” haters in a social media post.