Thursday, September 18 | By Cate Martel |
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It's Thursday. Man, this month has been packing a punch. It's only the 18th! |
- Inside ABC's decision to yank Kimmel's show
- Left, right debate Kimmel's involuntary hiatus
- Obama weighs in; spotlight turns to FCC chief
- Harris reveals her 'first choice' for VP last year
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🎙️ THE TALK OF WASHINGTON |
Jimmy Kimmel's indefinite hiatus ignites a firestorm: |
ABC's decision to "indefinitely" pull "Jimmy Kimmel Live" off the air over comments he made about Charlie Kirk's assassination has lit a fire in Washington, media circles and late-night comedy. Reactions have flooded in: Many on the right have been gloating over the decision, which they argue is justified following Kimmel's comments about the "MAGA gang" while discussing the Kirk shooting. President Trump openly celebrated the decision as "Great News for America," while Vice President Vance made a joke about it. More reactions supporting the move: Conservative pundit Megyn Kelly, Fox News's Greg Gutfeld, Fox's Jesse Watters The left, meanwhile, is furious. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) called it "outrageous," likening it to "a page right out of Xi's playbook" in a CNN interview. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) issued a joint statement from House Democratic leadership, calling for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr's resignation and accusing him of "corrupt abuse of power." Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) listed off various media battles on the part of Trump, arguing his administration "is responsible for the most blatant attacks on the free press in American history." Even former President Obama weighed in. He accused the White House of taking "cancel culture" 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." More reactions denouncing the decision: Former Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) This struck a nerve with Americans: Politico reports that as of midnight, there were roughly 1.2 million X posts about the Kimmel situation. |
➤ HOW THE KIMMEL TEAM REACTED: |
➤ LET ME WALK YOU THROUGH WHAT HAPPENED: |
During his Monday monologue, Kimmel accused conservative Republicans of trying to "score political points" from Kirk's death. He said the "MAGA gang" was "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." "In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving," Kimmel added. He then joked that the president was mourning Kirk "the way a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish." 📹 I suggest you watch the clip — it starts at the two-minute mark. Then what happened?: Carr, Trump's appointee to lead the FCC, appeared on conservative podcaster Benny Johnson's show, warning of repercussions for ABC's broadcast licenses if Disney did not punish Kimmel. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr said. "These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead." Nexstar Media Group, which owns a number of TV stations and other media properties including The Hill, said its affiliate stations across the country wouldn't air Kimmel's show over the comments. Shortly thereafter, ABC decided to suspend Kimmel "indefinitely." Who made the decision?: Disney's CEO Bob Iger and television chief Dana Walden made the decision, per The New York Times. Tidbit: Veteran journalist Chuck Todd dug up an old social media post from Carr where he defended "political satire" as "one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech." From Carr's May 2022 post: "It challenges those in power while using humor to draw more people in to the discussion. That's why people in influential positions have always targeted it for censorship." The FCC chair has defended the move today, arguing that Kimmel and other left-leaning comics are "facing the consequences" of catering to what he called a "very narrow audience." |
➤ THIS IS A BIG, BIG DEAL: |
Trump has openly voiced his disdain for late-night hosts for years, particularly over their critical coverage of him. And he's lauded moves to take some of the hosts off the air, criticizing them for low ratings. In July, when CBS said it was canceling Stephen Colbert's show, citing financial reasons, Trump suggested that Kimmel's show would be "next" on the chopping block. ^ As The Atlantic's David Frum pointed out today, Trump has also suggested he wants "Saturday Night Live" off the air. Who is Carr?: The FCC chair is known as an "attack dog" within his field and has a lot of power. He has been vocally critical of the news media for what he perceives as liberal bias. (Remember the infamous Project 2025? Carr wrote the chapter on the FCC.) Since accepting the federal agency role, Carr has been leading the charge for complaints against CBS, NBC and ABC. The New York Times published a helpful explainer, 'Who is Brendan Carr of the F.C.C.?' ^ Tidbit: CNN's Brian Stelter asked Carr whether he had any comment about ABC yanking Kimmel off the air. Carr responded with this celebratory gif from "The Office." 💡 Why this matters: The Trump administration is leveraging its power to fight back on what it perceives as political bias against conservatives. But there are major potential implications for the First Amendment. Fox News contributor Guy Benson weighed in, expressing concern for the precedent that Carr has set. "A subjective standard. What stops a future leftist version of Carr from using this excuse to meddle in, say, conservative talk radio programming?" Benson wrote on X in response to a Carr post. Since taking office, the Trump administration has had a hand in: |
- Blocking The Associated Press from accessing parts of the White House
- Suing The New York Times
- Suing The Wall Street Journal
- Suing CBS's "60 Minutes," winning $16 million in a settlement
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The Washington Post: Censorship fears deepen after ABC suspends Jimmy Kimmel over Kirk comments The Atlantic: An Escalation in Every Way: Jimmy Kimmel's suspension from late-night is a chilling precedent that could have deep consequences if it isn't swiftly undone. The New York Times: The Business Decision Behind Taking Jimmy Kimmel Off Air Axios: Media's MAGA makeover The Washington Post: Trump, allies seek to punish speech they dislike following Kirk killing |
Breaking — Trump asks the Supreme Court for help: |
The Trump administration has formally asked the Supreme Court to allow the president to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud accusations into effect. Timing: "Cook participated in this week's key vote cutting interest rates after a divided appeals panel rejected the administration's plea to intervene beforehand. The administration waited for the Fed's meeting to conclude before going to the high court, which has regularly sided with Trump in emergency cases." Read more |
Kamala Harris reveals her first choice for VP: |
Hint: It wasn't her running mate, Tim Walz. Former Vice President Kamala Harris reveals in her upcoming book that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was her "first choice" to be her 2024 presidential running mate. Why didn't she choose him then?: She thought it was "too big of a risk." How we know this: Harris shared an excerpt of her new book with The Atlantic, and it's getting good traction. Read the excerpt: "[Buttigieg] would have been an ideal partner—if I were a straight white man. But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let's just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk. … And I think Pete also knew that—to our mutual sadness." |
Well, those were fun livestreamed events to follow: |
^ What a photo of Trump and Kate, the Princess of Wales. President Trump has wrapped up his visit to the U.K. and is returning to good old "crime-free" Washington. He held a press conference this morning with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to close out the visit. Top news from the press conference: The two leaders expressed their disagreements over Starmer's recognition of a Palestinian state. "I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score. One of our few disagreements, actually," Trump said. 💬 Follow today's live blog Related read, via The Wall Street Journal: 'How Britain's Keir Starmer Became Europe's Soft-Spoken Trump Whisperer' |
➤ SIGHTS AND SOUNDS FROM THE U.K.: |
Trump made a joke about the names of the people he met: "I will tell you that I just stood in line and shook about 150 hands," Trump said. "The king knew every single person and every single company, and some of them had bad names like xyz-q3." The crowd chuckled. 📹 Watch the clip 📹 King Charles gave a shoutout to Alabama The menu at the state banquet: "A panna cotta de cresson starter, with parmesan shortbread and a quail egg salad. … organic Norfolk chicken ballotine wrapped in Courgettes with a thyme and savory infused jus. Dessert is a vanilla ice cream bombe with a Kentish raspberry sorbet interior, alongside lightly poached Victoria plums," per CNN's Alayna Treene. Citing CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Treene says the White House was in contact with the chefs, but the menu was tailored to King Charles's tastes. 📸 William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales ^ Do you think it's a coincidence that Kate is wearing a gilded gold gown? It's a stunning dress — and it does remind me a bit of how Trump redecorated the Oval Office. Kate and Melania's solo outing: First lady Melania Trump and Kate, the Princess of Wales, visited with young children in the Squirrel Scouts program. 📸 Photos 📹 Kate and Melania strolling |
Democrats seem ready to fight: | "Democratic senators say that unless Republicans scrap their plan to advance a 'clean' seven-week continuing resolution, they don't see any option other than defeating it as a way to send a 'message to President Trump," reports The Hill's Alexander Bolton. Meaning: "Doing so would almost certainly trigger a government shutdown, something Democrats avoided earlier this year but is increasingly looking inevitable this fall." Read more on the internal Democratic discussions behind closed doors. |
➤ THE 25 STAFFERS WHO MAKE CAPITOL HILL RUN: |
The Hill unveiled its 2025 list of 25 notable staffers who make Capitol Hill run. You may not know their names, but they've had a hand in the biggest battles and most fragile negotiations in the 119th Congress. 📝 See who made the list |
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The House and Senate are in. President Trump is flying back from the U.K. (All times EST) |
Noon: Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart London.
4 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆 Today's agenda
8:10 p.m.: The Trumps return to the White House. |
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🍔 Celebrate: Today is National Cheeseburger Day!
🍂 It's (almost) fall, y'all: We're just days away from the beginning of autumn, and Washingtonian has compiled a list of seasonal getaways close to D.C. Read here. |
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