THE KIMMEL AFFAIR

Jimmy Kimmel is just the latest victim of Trump’s relentless drive to bend the media to his will and silence critics. Trump is already eyeing more targets.

• When comedian Stephen Colbert’s show was cancelled in July, President Donald Trump all but clapped his tiny hands in a spasm of authoritarian delight. “I hear Jimmy Kimmel’s next!,” Trump gushed. Last night, Trump got his wish: Kimmel’s show was put on indefinite pause by ABC, after the host and frequent Trump critic suggested MAGA figures were playing politics with the death of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

• Kimmel’s troubles show how Trump and his minions are finding new ways to harness government power to pressure big media companies, including by threatening to withhold approval for important business deals. And it raises big concerns about the freedom of speech in Trump’s America, at a moment when Trump’s Federal Communications Committee chair, Brendan Carr, is emerging as Trump’s newest high-profile attack dog.

• Even before Kimmel got sidelined, Carr appeared on a right-wing podcast (interestingly, one of the pods that got “duped” into taking millions to create content for the Kremlin last year). Carr warned ABC and other companies the FCC regulates to “find ways to take action against Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” He added ominously: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

• Within hours, Nexstar, which owns 32 ABC affiliates, announced it would preempt Kimmel’s Wednesday show on its stations. Adding to Carr’s leverage: Nexstar is pursuing a $6.2 billion media acquisition that will require FCC approval.

• Trump officials were so quick to bust out their phones and send celebratory messages, they probably sprained their thumbs. Carr sent one reporter a silly gif showing characters from “The Office” cheering. Vice President JD Vance joked online that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would take over Kimmel’s show (very funny, JD!). Social media lit up today with examples of Carr and Vance’s hypocrisy and past support for freedom of speech. But never mind: censoring Kimmel was not about principle or grief. It was about power.

Trump is digging deep into the authoritarian toolkit to get what he wants.

• Trump started going after media companies long before Kirk died. ABC paid $16 million to settle a bogus lawsuit filed by Trump personally. CBS paid $16 million to end another Trump suit, at a moment when parent company Paramount's $8 billion merger deal was awaiting FCC approval. To be safe, CBS cancelled Colbert’s “The Late Show.” Trump is already posting that comedians Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon are next on his list.

• House Democratic leaders released a statement accusing Carr of a “corrupt abuse of power” that “will not be forgotten” if Dems take back House control. But Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries mentioned no move to hold Carr accountable by, say, impeaching Carr and forcing Republicans to cast a vote for or against government censorship.

• The Kimmel affair is just the latest proof that the MAGA movement is done with the critical parts of democracy. From Jan. 6, to pardons, to gerrymandering, to Jimmy Kimmel. MAGA, sadly, is bored with democratic niceties like fair elections, the rule of law, or arguing in an open public square.

In the Kimmel aftermath, Carr and Vance’s bullying tweets do imply an important question, though: What are the rest of us gonna do about it?

WHAT ELSE?

Eleven Democratic elected officials were arrested in New York City by federal officials after demanding access to detention cells used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold migrants. The officials were detained while holding a sit-in, chanting, and holding a banner that read: “NYers against ICE.”

Congress is racing toward another government shutdown deadline on October 1. Democrats rejected a GOP stop-gap measure to fund the government until November 21, while the GOP is refusing to negotiate on Democratic demands to restore some Medicaid cuts and Covid-era health insurance subsidies. Democrats don’t seem to have a plan for this confrontation. But, y’know… why start now, guys, right?

The Board of TurningPoint USA unanimously elected Charlie Kirk’s widow as its new CEO. Erika Kirk will now take over the right-wing youth organization, which has chapters on hundreds of campuses. Kirk declared her husband a “martyr” and promised to continue his mission after his murder.

The Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to allow Trump to unilaterally fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Trump is trying to assert unprecedented control over the Fed and its monetary decisions — in order to slam down interest rates, which experts warn could eventually unleash serious inflation.

Australian broadcaster ABC was excluded from Trump’s joint U.S./U.K. press conference outside London after one of its reporters asked Trump about his personal wealth while holding office. ABC’s America’s editor asked Trump how much wealth he had amassed since winning the presidency a second time. Trump responded angrily, saying the reporter was “hurting Australia.” Downing Street and the U.K.’s Foreign Press Association denied the exclusion was related to the question. How polite the Brits are. Beating up on the press and bothering to deny it!

Police say the suspect who killed three police officers and critically wounded two others in a Pennsylvania shooting Wednesday was a stalker hiding at his ex-girlfriend’s house. The gunman opened fire as police entered a house to serve a warrant after a domestic dispute the day before. The gunman was killed by police.

Light at the End of the Email…

Fat Bear Week is here! Time to vote on America’s burliest ursines as captured by bearcams at Brooks River in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. There’s even a cub division, Fat Bears Junior. Voting begins Sept. 23, so don’t hibernate on this one!

Seven Northeastern states, including New York and Pennsylvania, announced a new public health collaborative that will make its own vaccine recommendations. The move is similar to a Western collaborative announced last week among California and other states. It’s designed to counter politicized vaccine policies imposed by vaccine cynic and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at agencies like the CDC and FDA.

The ozone layer is healing nicely and the hole over the Antarctic may be entirely closed in a matter of decades, according to a new report. Shout out to the Montreal Protocol of 1987! Sometimes we can do stuff, y’know?

RIP Marilyn Haggerty, the North Dakota newspaper columnist whose earnest Olive Garden restaurant review became viral Internet canon in 2012. Haggerty’s review included praise for “two long, warm breadsticks” and the O.G.’s “warm decor.” Even Anthony Bourdain stepped up to defend her from online haters. Haggerty was 99.

Reviews of another kind are pouring in for First Lady Melania Trump’s wide-brimmed, incognito ensemble that she wore to visit the royals at Windsor Castle. Reviews included “plum,” “grim reaper,” and “coat and a hat rack.”