FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s warning to ABC that “we can do this the easy way or the hard way” about Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was only a joke, Senator JD Vance insisted this week.
Carr has attempted to separate himself from Disney’s temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live, suggesting Democrats were to blame. On Wednesday, Vance echoed that line, claiming Carr—a Project 2025 architect—did not intend his words seriously, despite no such clarification at the time.
“What people will say is, ‘Didn’t the FCC commissioner put a tweet out that said something bad?’” Vance told reporters. “Well, compare that—the FCC commissioner making a joke on social media. What is the government action that the Trump administration has engaged in to kick Jimmy Kimmel or anybody else off the air? Zero,” he said.
“What government pressure have we brought to bear to tell people that they’re not allowed to speak their mind? Zero. We believe in free speech in the Trump administration. We are fighting every single day to protect it.”
Carr’s comment did not sound like a joke at the time. Speaking with right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson hours before Disney pulled Kimmel’s show last Wednesday, Carr suggested ABC could lose its broadcasting license if it failed to act.
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” he said, referencing outrage over Kimmel’s remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
He added, “They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest.” Kimmel returned to the air Tuesday night and directly criticized Carr and Donald Trump, who have long pushed for his removal.
Pressuring Disney, he argued, was not only “a direct violation of the First Amendment,” but also “not a particularly intelligent threat to make in public.” Kimmel further accused Carr of hypocrisy by pointing to a 2022 tweet in which Carr praised political satire because “it challenges those in power while using humor to draw more people in to the discussion.”