(BBC News) US President Donald Trump has suggested some TV networks should perhaps have their licences taken away, as he backed America’s broadcast regulator in a row over the suspension of ABC host Jimmy Kimmel.
The Disney-owned network announced on Wednesday evening it was pulling the comedian off air “indefinitely” amid a backlash over his remarks about the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk last week.
On Monday, Kimmel appeared to suggest the suspect was a MAGA (Make America Great Again) Republican, although authorities in Utah had said the alleged gunman was “indoctrinated with leftist ideology”.
ABC took Jimmy Kimmel Live! off air after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) threatened action over his remarks.
Trump spoke about the issue to reporters on Thursday aboard Air Force One while returning from a state visit to the UK.
“I have read some place that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily, all seven swing states [in last year’s election],” the president said.
“They give me only bad publicity, press. I mean, they’re getting a licence. I would think maybe their licence should be taken away.”
In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel, 57, 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.”
He also likened Trump’s reaction to the death of his 31-year-old political confidant to “how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
After the shooting, Kimmel had also gone on Instagram to condemn the attack and send “love” to the Kirk family.
Speaking to Fox on Thursday, FCC chairman Brendan Carr said the suspension of Kimmel was not “the last shoe to drop.”
“We are going to continue to hold these broadcasters accountable to the public interest,” he said.
“And if broadcasters don’t like that simple solution, they can turn their licence in to the FCC.”
The FCC has regulatory power over major networks, such as ABC, and their independently owned affiliates.
But the agency has limited authority over cable channels, such as Fox or MSNBC, and no authority over podcasts or most streaming content.
