Using his henchmen against his perceived enemies.....again. Trying to hold broadcast licenses as a weapon to punish Kimmel.
FCC Asked To Investigate Jimmy Kimmel As Trump Demands Disney Fire Him
The National Religious Broadcasters association (NRB) has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), asking it to investigate ABC following Jimmy Kimmel's joke about first lady Melania Trump having "the glow of an expectant widow."
The FCC is preparing to call in all eight Disney/ABC owned‑and‑operated station licenses for early renewal, according to reporting from CNN. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that the move could come “as early as this afternoon.”
The comedian made the remark on Thursday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, in which he pretended to deliver a comedy routine at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.
The real dinner, two days later on Saturday night, was cut short after a man armed with guns and knives tried to storm the ballroom. Cole Allen, 31, was later charged with the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.
On Monday, the president and first lady both called on ABC to fire Kimmel, who had been taken off the air under pressure from the FCC last year following comments he made about the assassination of conservative commentator and Trump ally Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel has defended the "expectant widow" joke and said it was "not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination."
The NRB, a group consisting of members employed in Christian media, said Kimmel's remarks "when viewed in context, raise concerns about the normalization and potential incitement of political violence." It also requested the FCC to conduct a "full and impartial investigation to determine whether federal law or Commission precedent was violated."
"We're seeing a pattern of violence in this country that didn't appear overnight," Troy Miller, NRB's president and CEO, said in a statement.
"When influential voices joke about death or treat political opponents as disposable, it contributes to a culture where violence feels thinkable to the already unstable. National platforms carry real weight, and with that comes responsibility. That's why this warranted action."
What Did Jimmy Kimmel Say About Melania Trump?
The latest controversy stems from a skit on Thursday’s show in which Kimmel, dressed in a tuxedo and standing behind a podium, pretended to deliver a comic routine at the WHCA. The segment had staged cutaways to the Trumps and others that were taken from video clips.
At one point, Kimmel noted the first lady in the "audience," saying: “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."
Other jokes in the parody focused on the perceived distance between the president and first lady and imagined how she might spend her birthday.
Kimmel defended the joke during his monologue on Monday night, saying it was “not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination.”
He added that it was "a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am."
He said he was sorry that the president and everyone at the event went through that traumatic and scary experience.
“I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject,” Kimmel said. “I do, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.”Donald Trump Renews Call for Kimmel's Firing
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday that Kimmel "should be immediately fired" by ABC and its parent company, The Walt Disney Company.
"I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel's despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale," he wrote.
Melania Trump said Kimmel’s “hateful and violent rhetoric” is intended to divide the country as she called for Kimmel's firing in a social media post.
"People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate," she wrote.
“A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that criticism during a press briefing on Monday, saying it was part of a campaign of rhetoric from Democrats and some in the media that “has helped to legitimize this violence.”
“Who in their right mind says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband?” Leavitt said.
ABC is operating under a different corporate and leadership structure than it was during Kimmel’s suspension in the fall of 2025, when pressure from affiliates and regulatory threats played a central role in the network’s response.
While the network remains owned by Disney, the company has since reorganized its television division and installed new leadership, with Debra O’Connell named chairman of Disney Entertainment Television in March, overseeing ABC Entertainment and ABC News.
What Is the NRB?
The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is a multimedia association founded by evangelical Christian broadcasters in the 1940s.
The NRB describes itself as a nonpartisan and says on its website that it works to protect the “free speech rights of our members by advocating those rights in governmental, corporate, and media sector.”
Its membership includes some of the nation’s most influential conservative media companies and its messages often align with Republican aims.
Trump addressed the NRB’s annual convention while running for president in 2024, promising to use his second term to defend Christian values.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a keynote address at this year’s convention, during which he railed against what he called the “godless left.”
What FCC Can Do About Kimmel
The FCC’s authority applies to broadcast television, not individual hosts, so any action would have to be directed at ABC-owned and ABC-affiliated broadcast stations.
However, it can act only if content meets specific legal standards on obscenity, indecency or profanity. Political commentary, humor and satire are strongly protected by the First Amendment and fall outside the FCC’s reach.
While the FCC can investigate ABC, it can do so only as a broadcast licensee, not over editorial decisions or speech, and its authority is confined to enforcing federal communications rules. Any investigation must be tied to a specific, plausible rule violation, often prompted by viewer complaints.
Anna M. Gomez, the FCC’s sole Democrat and a longtime communications lawyer, has warned against Saturday’s shooting being used as “a pretext for silencing speech."
“As we have seen after previous acts of political violence, we cannot allow this tragedy to become a pretext for silencing speech, even speech we find objectionable. An event meant to honor the freedom of the press must never become a justification for undermining it," Gomez wrote on X.
The FCC generally avoids actions that could be viewed as chilling protected expression. Therefore, any real consequences for Kimmel’s show are more likely to come from network management, advertisers or public backlash, not federal regulators.
Kimmel’s Long History of Clashes With Trump Resurfaces
Trump has long been a frequent target of Kimmel’s late‑night comedy, with the host intensifying his criticism following a run‑in with the administration last fall.
Kimmel was briefly suspended by ABC after remarks about the killing of Kirk, and some of the network's affiliates, including Sinclair and Nexstar, temporarily took his show off the air—moves encouraged at the time by Trump‑appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. ABC and the stations later reinstated Kimmel.
After returning to the air, Kimmel said his comment that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk” was not intended to make light of the killing, though he stopped short of apologizing. He also criticized station owners who pulled his show before later reversing their decisions.
Shortly afterwards, ABC signed Kimmel to a one‑year contract extension that is set to keep him on the air through May 2027.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! has aired on the network since January 2003. Meanwhile, Kimmel’s late‑night rival Stephen Colbert—another outspoken Trump critic—is set to see his CBS program end next month.
https://www.newsweek.com/fcc-asked-...onald-trump-demands-disney-fire-11886214
