The president wrote on Truth Social: 'Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 million dollars'.
Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images
Jimmy Kimmel struck a tone of reconciliation in his return to late night TV on Tuesday, after a suspension over comments about the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. The late night host told his audience on ABC: “It was never my intention to make light of the death of a young man.”
President Donald Trump was not in such a forgiving mood. In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday evening he threatened to sue the network, called Kimmel “not funny,” and said the host was endangering the network by playing “Democrat garbage.”
Trump wrote: “He [Kimmel] is yet another arm of the DNC [Democratic National Committee] and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal campaign contribution. 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.”
ABC did not immediately comment on Trump's threat.
Kimmel’s show was pulled off the air last week after he said Trump and his allies were "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" and trying to "score political points from it."
The suspension followed comments by the head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) condemning the Kimmel and hinting that the regulatory agency might take action against ABC. It prompted an immediate backlash from fans, Democrats, and some Republicans, who called it an attack on free speech.
Kimmel’s return to the Disney $DIS-owned network has been equally controversial among America’s TV networks, however. Nexstar and Sinclair, media groups that together own dozens of local ABC affiliates, did not air the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night. Between them, the two networks cover about 23% of households in the U.S.
Nexstar said in a statement: "We made a decision last week to preempt 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' following what ABC referred to as Mr Kimmel's 'ill-timed and insensitive' comments at a critical time in our national discourse.
"We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve."
Nexstar is in the process of a $6.2 billion deal to buy a rival network, Tegna, and will need the FCC to give it the green light.
"Mr Kimmel's remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country," Sinclair's vice chairman Jason Smith said.
The comedian said in his return that he understood his comments may have seemed “either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset.”
He called the shooter “a sick person” and said the fact that Kirk’s widow Erika had expressed willingness to forgive the killer was an “example we should follow.”
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