by C J WaldronWhen Jimmy Kimmel made a comment about MAGA, as it related to Charlie Kirk’s murder, there was immediate backlash. Under threat from Donald Trump’s self-appointed censor, FCC Chair Bredan Carr, Kimmel’s popular late night talk show was suspended indefinitely. There were other factors involved. Media giant Nexstar declared that it would no longer air on its affiliates, taking away a substantial portion of Kimmel’s audience. Yet it was Carr’s threat of “We can do this the easy way or the hard way” that ultimately resulted in Kimmel’s suspension.
Kimmel’s comments are protected by the First Amendment. Freedom of Speech is one of our most cherished rights. Yet there are those who, in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, are declaring a war on free speech. Attorney General Pam Bondi went as far as to claim that hate speech was not protected by the First Amendment. By hate speech, she meant anything that MAGA doesn’t like. As a result, many have been fired for making remarks that are viewed as being critical of Charlie Kirk.
Under fire from both sides of the political spectrum, Bondi later retracted her remarks, but the threat was already made, and Jimmy Kimmel is proof that, if you speak ill of Charlie Kirk, you will face consequences.
And it wasn’t just Bondi. Vice President, and MAGA flunky, JD Vance took the chair of Kirk’s right-wing podcast to urge everyday citizens to turn in fellow employees they overheard making negative comments about Charlie Kirk.
Even before Vance’s threat, MSNBC fired political analyst Matthew Dowd for calling some of Charlie Kirk’s comments “Hate speech” while Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah was let go after using Kirk’s own words in her column to describe him.
Everyday workers, especially teachers, are being fired because they made comments critical of Charlie Kirk. The entire spectacle is being used as a means to silence any opposition to MAGA.
To be honest, prior to his murder, I had little idea who Charlie Kirk was. I still am ambivalent to the claims, both on the left and the right. While the right is declaring him to be a political martyr, the left is calling him a racist, homophobe, misogynist, xenophobe, transphobe and a myriad of other labels, none of which paint him in the flattering light MAGA is portraying.
The right is painting an image of Kirk as a Family man, a Christian, a unifier and, ironically, a defender of the First Amendment. They have elevated him to the status reserved for saints, wanting to declare his funeral a National Day of Mourning. Donald Trump ordered flags lowered to half-staff. Members of Congress have proposed erecting a Charlie Kirk statue to stand in the hallowed halls of the Capitol, which was also the site where protestors smeared feces on the walls. State legislators are proposing Charlie Kirk laws that would make it easier to fire anyone they feel is not sufficiently respectful.
Kimmel is only the latest casualty in the war on truth. It goes back many months, to ABC, the network of Jimmy Kimmel. When George Stephanopoulos called Trump a rapist, Trump sued the network. Legal analysts said that while the actual charges that Trump was found liable for stated sexual assault, it fit the legal definition of rape, so Stephanopoulos was on solid ground and ABC could have easily defeated the lawsuit. Instead, ABC backed down and agreed to pay off Trump to drop the lawsuit.
When 60 Minutes interviewed then Vice President Kamala Harris, in the midst of the 2024 presidential election, Trump accused them of selectively editing her interview to avoid Harris’s appearing to be incompetent. Again, he filed a lawsuit and again the network, CBS, backed down and made a “contribution” to Trump’s yet unbuilt Presidential Library.
In response to the settlement, late night talk show host Stephen Colbert accused CBS of bribing the Trump administration so that a proposed merger, which required FCC approval, could occur. Colbert’s top-rated show was cancelled and the merger was approved, so nothing to see here, right?
Following Colbert’s firing, Trump vowed to go after Kimmel. Now that Kimmel is suspended, he has set his sights on frequent critics Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, to create a late-night void that would be filled by right wing stooge Greg Gutfield.
If there is one thing a bully can’t stand, it’s to be made fun of. It has long been rumored that Trump’s presidential aspirations began after then President Obama ribbed him at the White House Correspondents dinner. So given the verbal taunts from late night hosts, it’s no surprise that the notoriously thin-skinned Toddler in Chief is going after those who tease him. And now he is using the murder of Charlie Kirk to weaponize his attacks.
Charlie Kirk is dead. That is sad. But whether you viewed him as a messianic figure or the epitome of evil, although I’m sure that moniker has already been taken by Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, you can certainly agree that no one deserves to die for expressing their views. In times like this we need laughter to ease the overwhelming tension. Having laughter silenced by a humorless tyrant is indeed no laughing matter.
C J (Chris Waldron) has been contributing his insight to Lean to the Left practically since its inception. Chris is coauthor with Lean to the Left’s founder Bob Gatty of the trilogy, Hijacked Nation, Donald Trump’s attack on America’s greatness. He is a former college English professor and public school teacher. Living in Myrtle Beach, SC, he hails from upstate New York.
