"ABC's indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel is, for anyone who cares about free speech in the United States, greatly disturbing. Kimmel is off the air because he made a joke about the accused murderer of Charlie Kirk and the Trump administration longs to systematically silence dissent. "Hate" speech is not free speech, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Vice-President J.D. Vance has celebrated the idea of publicly shaming and firing anyone who speaks ill of Kirk."
"The good news is that, unlike the speech crackdowns in the wake of 9/11 or the McCarthy period, there is no widespread support for such blatant overreach. Trump is not a popular president, Kirk was nowhere near as revered as conservatives seem to believe he was, and if ABC and CBS have already capitulated to the White House, currying favor with the federal government as their parent companies seek mergers, the Times, lacking corporate ownership, will be glad to battle Trump in court and win."
ABC indefinitely suspended Jimmy Kimmel after a joke about Charlie Kirk, illustrating growing governmental and corporate pressure to silence critics. Attorney General Pam Bondi asserted that "hate" speech is not free speech, and Vice-President J.D. Vance endorsed public shaming and firings for those who speak ill of Kirk. President Trump repeatedly sues defiant news outlets and has pursued a specious $15 billion suit against the New York Times seeking retraction. The pattern echoes earlier social-justice rationales but now leverages greater state power through regulatory and corporate influence, while some major newspapers remain willing to resist legally.
Read at Intelligencer
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