Former U.S. president Barack Obama laid into the Trump administration Thursday following ABC’s decision to “indefinitely” suspend comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show.
The 64-year-old former head of state said suspending Kimmel over his comments about slain political commentator Charlie Kirk amounted to “government coercion,” accusing the Trump administration of playing fast and loose with the First Amendment, which protects the right to free speech in America.
“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 in a post on X.
Obama’s reference to regulatory action likely refers to comments made by Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr, who said earlier this week that his agency, which issues licenses for broadcasting over public airwaves, would look into “remedies” to address Kimmel’s comments if companies didn’t take action.
“These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the F.C.C. ahead,” Carr said Wednesday on a podcast by right-wing media personality Benny Johnson.
Dozens of channels from local ABC stations belonging to station owner Sinclair will air a remembrance honoring Kirk in the time slot formerly occupied by Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Sinclair has called for the late-night host to apologize and make a donation to the right-wing organization Kirk founded, Turning Point USA.
In his X post, Obama added that “media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to” the Trump administration.
The White House and ABC did not immediately respond to Fortune’s requests for comment.
Obama, who has kept a relatively low profile since leaving office, has spoken up more recently about political issues and Trump’s actions since the former real-estate tycoon retook office in January. During an event hosted by the Jefferson Education Society in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Obama also criticized the Trump administration’s deployment of the national guard in Washington D.C. and President Donald Trump’s rejection of presidential norms, according to the LA Times.
Other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), have also spoken out against Kimmel’s suspension. On Thursday, he and a group of Congressional Democratic leaders issued a joint statement condemning FCC chairman Carr for his alleged “corrupt abuse of power.”
President Trump, meanwhile, praised ABC’s actions and incorrectly stated Kimmel’s show had been canceled in a Truth Social post Wednesday. Trump added that there were only two late-night hosts left in his view, both operating on NBC: Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.
“Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!” Trump wrote in the post.
