The late-night host said Trump supporters are ‘desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.’
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is warning that it may take immediate action against Jimmy Kimmel, his network ABC, and Disney in response to remarks the late-night TV host made in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination this week.
During a monologue on Monday evening, Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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.”
Utah prosecutors, the state’s governor, and the FBI have said that the suspect, Tyler Robinson, allegedly held leftist ideological viewpoints. On Tuesday, prosecutors said Robinson told his roommate through a message that he believed Kirk, a conservative activist and ally of President Donald Trump, was “spreading hate.”
Officials in Utah last week and also in a news conference on Tuesday said that Robinson’s parents told investigators that he had shifted to the left in his political leanings and had pro-transgender views. He was also in a romantic relationship with a male individual who identifies as transgender, they said.
Three days before Kimmel’s monologue, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced that bullets recovered in the case had engravings—allegedly done by Robinson—that had anti-fascist messages. He added that family members said he expressed critical comments about Kirk at a recent dinner. He also said Robinson held “leftist ideology,” although officials have not ascribed a motive.
On Wednesday, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said in a podcast interview that his agency is poised to take action over Kimmel’s comments, which he described as false and “truly sick.”
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he told podcaster Benny Johnson. “These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
He added that ABC, which is owned by Disney, has “a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest.”
