Harlow Bidwell ‘28, Opinion Editor
TV host and comedian, Jimmy Kimmel, taken off air, supposedly indefinitely after comments made surrounding Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the M.A.G.A gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points off of it.” The point Kimmel attempted to make was that Republicans were trying to make the death of someone of their own party, the fault of Democrats or liberals, yet it was proven that he was killed by a young Republican.
Later, Kimmel went on to say that Trump’s grief was comparable to how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish. This characterization by Kimmel was in response to how Trump spoke to a reporter the day after Kirk’s assassination. Rather than speaking on Kirk’s assassination, Trump talked about the recent renovation of the White House ballroom. Head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, condemned the comments made by Kimmel, and consequently, ABC pulled the show off the air. Carr is a part of the Republican Party and was named Chairman of the FCC in 2024 before Trump took office, while Kimmel is known more closely as a ‘radical leftist’ and openly criticizes Trump. These vast differences in their political parties on top of criticizing one another’s beliefs instead of agreeing on the baseline of the Constitution is detrimental.
After an almost week-long suspension, Kimmel returned to the air and addressed the comments made, stating his intentions were not to joke about the murder but to make a point of the audience’s ignorance, and how it could be seen as ill-mannered and unclear. Kimmel called ABC un-American because of this breach of the Constitution.
Although some could argue that this breach of the Constitution had nothing to do with politics, it directly correlates with the left and right fighting opinions. According to the FCC, “The Federal Communications Commission regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in all 50 states,” also including, “ Supporting the nation’s economy by ensuring an appropriate competitive framework for the unfolding of the communications revolution.” At no point in the regulations does it state that they could take media off the air that disagrees with a certain party.
Additionally, the First Amendment of the Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This protects the right of ideas through speech or actions. Kimmel had not violated any rights while just sharing an opinion that many agreed with, nor did he harm anyone in the process; he just went against the ideologies of the president, and Trump felt threatened.
Conversely, the Founding Fathers created the Constitution to follow because of their hatred towards the lack of voice and power they held within the British Parliament. Currently, voices are constantly silenced, mainly due to the opposing parties opinion, specifically within the White House. The exact opposite of what the Constitution was intended for, yet this is not the first time this has happened in the U.S.
For instance, in Texas v. Johnson. the case was brought to the Supreme Court after activist Gregory Lee Johnson burned the American flag outside the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas 1984. This act led to a $2,000 fine and was sentenced to one year in jail before being brought to the Supreme Court. To summarize the case, the burning of the flag was protected under the First Amendment. Wrongfully charging someone under circumstances over political beliefs is illegal. This is comparable to Kimmel’s situation, again revolving directly around unconstitutionally silencing voices.
Additionally, the importance of the Americans having this constitutional right protects their freedom of speech, whether that relates to protests, opinions, the clothes people wear, or even what religions people follow. This country was built on the basis of freedom, yet now government officials do not follow these principles that the United States was meant to guarantee. Taking away constitutional rights makes the U.S. just as bad, or maybe even worse than the parliament they were once fighting against all those years ago.
Lyon Life 