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Obama slams Trump's attack on free speech in wake of Kimmel suspension



Former President Barack Obama on Thursday criticized media companies for
buckling under the Trump administration’s censorship demands. His comments
follow the decision by Disney-owned ABC to sideline late-night host Jimmy
Kimmel for a joke about President Donald Trump’s response to the death of
bigoted activist Charlie Kirk.

“After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration
has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory
action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and
commentators it doesn’t like,” Obama wrote on Bluesky Thursday.

Referring specifically to Kimmel’s indefinite suspension, Obama added, “This
is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was
designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than
capitulating to it.”




 



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This comes a day after he pointed out that the Trump team has promoted and
empowered “extremist views,” which Obama’s own administration did not engage in
during his presidency from 2009 to 2017.

Obama is the most prominent Democrat to criticize ABC and the Trump
administration’s actions, but he’s far from alone.

In a statement from the House Democratic leadership team, led by House
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the action was described as “Donald Trump and
the Republican Party’s war on the First Amendment” which they said is
“blatantly inconsistent with American values.”

“Media companies, such as the one that suspended Mr. Kimmel, have a lot to
explain. The censoring of artists and cancellation of shows is an act of
cowardice. It may also be part of a corrupt pay-to-play scheme. House Democrats
will make sure the American people learn the truth, even if that requires the
relentless unleashing of congressional subpoena power. This will not be
forgotten,” they wrote.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on Bluesky, “Everybody across the
political spectrum should be speaking out to stop what’s happening to Jimmy
Kimmel. This is about protecting democracy.”

Similarly, Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote on Bluesky, “Trump silencing free
speech stifles our democracy. It sure looks like giant media companies are
enabling his authoritarianism.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, who is the ranking member of the
House Oversight Committee, said on CNN that “late-night talk show hosts should
be able to speak freely and give their opinions. The free press is under
attack.”

And Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon called out Trump’s “harem” of billionaires.




 



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“Trump is launching a full blown attack on free speech while his harem of
billionaires buys up every media platform,” he wrote on Bluesky.

Speaking to reporters while in England, Trump tried to deflect from the
pressure his Federal Communications Commission exerted on ABC to get Kimmel off
air.

“Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else,
and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk,”
Trump claimed.

In reality, Kimmel was the top-rated late-night talk show host in the key
18-49 demographic in the most recent quarter of ratings. In fact, Kimmel’s
ratings were up 22% from the previous quarter while other hosts were
down—including pro-Trump host Greg Gutfeld on Fox News.

Trump’s abuse of power has been so blatant that he’s even been criticized by
stalwart right-wing figures like George W. Bush aides David Frum and Karl Rove.
Even Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence has criticized the right-wing
witch hunt.

The First Amendment and the Constitution are under attack, and some of the
highest profile people in American life are making that fact incredibly clear.



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