Late night television host Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday thanked Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and conservative activist Ben Shapiro for backing him over the Trump administration as Disney suspended his show “indefinitely,” ultimately to bring it back Tuesday night.
Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday after he had falsely claimed that accused Charlie Kirk assassin, Tyler Robinson, was “MAGA.”
“You understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed asking compassion for his family, and I meant it. I still do. Nor did I mean to blame any specific group for the actions of a specific individual. That was actually the opposite of the point I was trying to make. For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation were reversed, there’s a good chance I would’ve felt the same way,” Kimmel said.
He then proceeded to thank those on the center-right who defended him after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr said that Disney “can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Many on the right swiftly came to Kimmel’s defense, claiming that the FCC and Trump administration were threatening free speech.
Cruz, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, accused Carr of “dangerous as hell” mafia-like tactics after he appeared to push for the removal of Kimmel’s show.
“And I’ve got to say, that’s right out of Goodfellas. That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here, it’d be a shame if something happened to it,’” Cruz said on his podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz.
Despite Cruz and other Republicans’ criticism, President Donald Trump backed the FCC chairman.
“I think Brendan Carr is a great American patriot. So I disagree with Ted Cruz on that,” the president told reporters last Friday.
McConnell seconded Cruz’s criticism of Carr, saying, “Well, my colleague, Ted Cruz, said it looked just like Goodfellas. As a First Amendment guy, myself, I think he’s probably got it right. You don’t have to like what somebody says on TV to agree that the government shouldn’t be getting involved here.”
Republicans’ backing of Kimmel over Trump enraged many Republicans.
“They should have Jimmy Kimmel emcee their next joint fundraiser,” one Republican political operative told Breitbart News.
I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his “talent” was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE. He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution.
He added, “I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”
