And when it comes to Jimmy Kimmel, another cave-in has occurred:
The blackout of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is over.
Sinclair and Nexstar, the two major station groups that preempted the talk show earlier this month, are allowing the show to return to their ABC-affiliated stations on Friday evening.
This means that Kimmel will be seen again in major cities like Washington, DC, Nashville, and Seattle, as well as several dozen other markets. [CNN/Business]
And why? In this tense political atmosphere, it’s hard to say if this is to be trusted :
Some affiliates of both Nexstar and Sinclair had been inundated with calls from frustrated Kimmel fans in recent days.
Believable, at least.
Andrew Sullivan is caught on the horns of a smelly dilemma:
The difference between Kimmel and the rest, of course, is that Kimmel is on a broadcast network, which is supposed to serve the “public interest” and is subject to government licensing. And what those networks have done these last few years — especially in late night — has been to become aggressive, partisan opponents of Trump and MAGA and subsequently, much more unforgivably, craven apologists — and even propagandists, in the case of Colbert — for Biden. They decided to cater to only one half of the country, and relentlessly mock, ridicule, and demonize the other half. Johnny Carson, they ain’t.
From what little I’ve read, the motivations of shooter Tyler Robinson are not at all clear. He was brought up in gun culture. That’s precious little to go on.
For Sullivan, though….
But the tit-for-tat is at Orbán levels now, with state institutions directly canceling private entities. That is a difference in kind, not degree. It’s where cancel culture becomes outright authoritarianism. FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s mob-like threats against broadcast networks this week — we can do this “the easy way or the hard way” — were pure Budapest. Nexstar needs FCC blessing for a merger, so within hours of Carr’s encouragement, they and their 60 affiliate stations balked at Kimmel’s lie. Disney, faced with losing 40 percent of a late-night audience that had already declined by almost half in 2025, swiftly caved.
And the Trump right isn’t coy or shy about any of this. They love cancel culture, they now declare, and want the state to be fully involved in it. The leverage is federal and immense: funds for universities and schools, contracts with law firms, IRS and DOJ investigations of critics, ICE arrests of immigrant students for criticizing Israel, visa revocations for the ideologically problematic, and now open threats to broadcast licenses if they don’t please Trump.
In Sullivan’t view, if Trump frightens you, the alternative is hardly better. Which is an echo of my own wish that both political parties lose and disband, preferably in 2026, as these two parties have become corrupted by arrogance.
Consider this Earl’s arrogance and self-importance, and then get back to me. I’ll try to hose you off.
