Did you hear the one in regards to the President who couldn’t take a joke?
Not that Trump’s humorless streak is new; lots of his allies suppose he solely determined to hunt the very best workplace within the land after then-President Obama roasted him on the 2011 White Home Correspondent’s dinner. “I feel that’s the evening he resolves to run for president,” Roger Stone mentioned later.
Guessing at his considering throughout that dinner, Omarosa Manigault added, “It’s the final revenge to change into essentially the most highly effective man within the universe.” Now in his second time period, revenge is about the one factor Trump appears ready to slot in between rounds of golf. The most recent casualty is Jimmy Kimmel, whose late-night present was indefinitely pulled by ABC on Wednesday following some anodyne feedback in regards to the loss of life of Charlie Kirk.
Trump’s FCC Chairman Brendan Carr didn’t hassle hiding the menace: “What individuals don’t perceive is that the broadcasters … have a license granted by us on the FCC,” he mentioned. “Look, we will do that the straightforward method or the arduous method. These corporations can discover methods to alter conduct, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be extra work for the FCC forward.” And everyone knows how a lot this administration hates precise work!
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“Is that this authorized?” you would possibly ask, however then your folks would possibly follow-up with the query, “Have you ever been in a coma?” Ever since a GOP-controlled Senate voted to acquit Trump on impeachment costs following the January sixth rebellion, the entire idea of “authorized” has change into like Trump’s spray tan — a factor to take a look at earlier than it’s washed away. “Can he get away with it?” is likely to be a greater query, and I feel everyone knows the reply.
Stephen Colbert’s sudden cancellation got here cloaked in believable deniability — did it actually need to do with Paramount needing FCC approval to merge with Skydance, or was it a pure response to declining rankings and a weak late-night panorama? However with Kimmel there’s no ambiguity. The White Home is crowing in regards to the profitable censorship, they usually would possibly simply be getting began. Solely yesterday, the FCC threatened to “look into” The View.
The temper recollects the months after the 9/11 terrorist assaults. Invoice Maher’s present Politically Incorrect was canceled after he claimed that flying planes into buildings takes extra braveness than lobbing cruise missiles — a way more provocative take than a lot of the Kirk feedback — and he was changed by [drum-roll, please] Jimmy Kimmel Dwell! The then-Dixie Chicks, Phil Donahue, and even apolitical rock songs like “Hey Man, Good Shot” all got here beneath hearth, and a few of these careers by no means recovered. The Chicks have been by no means as massive as The Dixie Chicks, and Donahue’s opposition to the Iraq Battle successfully ended his 40-year profession in broadcast tv.
In fact Kimmel and Colbert are millionaires many occasions over, and if The View will get shut down, these girls gained’t be ravenous within the streets. However norms are being shattered, the First Modification has been weakened, and this gained’t all get magically mounted after the 2026 midterms. A precedent for a political FCC has been set, and it could take generations to undo.
The sample is as predictable as it’s chilling: Trump, who couldn’t take a joke at that Correspondents’ dinner, is now systematically silencing those that dare to make them. In comedy golf equipment throughout America, comedians are questioning if they need to self-censor, producers are pulling sketches, and writers are second-guessing each punchline. The previous showbiz motto was “snicker whilst you can,” and people phrases have not often felt extra like a warning.
