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The President of the United States, Donald Trump, fiercely criticized the network ABC for reinstating its television slot to comedian Jimmy Kimmel, just days after the show was suspended amid controversy over a monologue regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
In a message published this Tuesday on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump labeled ABC as "Fake News" and questioned the decision to bring back the show. “Their audience is gone, and their ‘talent’ never existed. Why would they want back someone who performs so poorly, isn’t funny, and jeopardizes the network by airing 99% of Democratic garbage?” the former president wrote.
The Republican leader also suggested that Kimmel's program constitutes "another arm of the Democratic Party" and warned that the revival of the show could be seen as "an illegal campaign contribution."
In that regard, he hinted that he plans to "put ABC to the test" in court. "The last time I went against them, I received 16 million dollars. This sounds even more profitable," he stated.
The return of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' to the screen of ABC occurred after nearly a week of suspension, amidst protests outside Disney offices in New York and California, as well as a public letter supported by more than 400 celebrities in support of the host.
Disney, the owner of the network, explained that the pause was "temporary" to "avoid worsening the situation at a sensitive time for the country."
However, not all stations affiliated with ABC resumed broadcasting. The Sinclair group, which has dozens of local channels, decided to replace the program with news during that time slot, while Nexstar has not yet confirmed if it will return to airing it.
The show's cancellation originated on September 17, when Kimmel suggested that the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk was a Republican and a Trump supporter, which sparked outrage from the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, an ally of the President.
Carr described the words as "the most pathological behavior possible" and threatened to review the licenses of affiliates of ABC.
The return of the program has reignited the debate over the limits of political satire on broadcast television and the influence of political pressure on the media. Kimmel, who addressed the controversy in his monologue, has not made any public statements, while Trump is now escalating the confrontation to a legal level.
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