In a moment that cut through the carefully staged diplomacy of an international press conference, a British reporter forced Donald Trump to answer for his administration’s growing crackdown on dissent — one day after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show following threats from the president’s FCC chair.
Standing beside UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Trump was hit with a direct question:
“Your vice president, Vance, said that free speech was under attack in the UK. Do you agree with him, and the Prime Minister, we saw the dismissal of a very well-known chat show host in America last night, Mr. Kimmel. Is free speech more under attack in Britain or America?”
Trump didn’t miss a beat — and made it personal.
“Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else,” Trump said. “He said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk.”
ABC’s move to pull Kimmel’s show came just a day after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, called Kimmel’s comments “sick” during an appearance on a right-wing podcast. He went further, suggesting his agency might take action against Kimmel, ABC, and Disney. That same day, Nexstar — which owns numerous ABC affiliates — said it would stop airing the show.
The timing raised eyebrows. Nexstar is currently pursuing a $6 billion deal to acquire media giant Tegna, a merger that would need FCC approval. If that sounds like leverage, that’s because it might be.
And Kimmel wasn’t just any critic. He was one of the few mainstream late-night hosts still taking direct aim at Trump since Colbert’s abrupt cancellation earlier this year by CBS — another network in the middle of a merger.
The White House has denied any involvement, but Trump’s social media post late Wednesday didn’t exactly help their case. From the UK, he celebrated Kimmel’s suspension — and called for the heads of NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, too.
In Monday’s monologue, Kimmel offered his condolences to Kirk’s family — calling the murder “horrible and monstrous” — but also accused Trump and others in MAGA circles of “working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.” That line drew sharp backlash from the right — and apparently caught the attention of the administration.
At Thursday’s press conference, Trump doubled down on his attack.
“You could call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent,” the president said. “He’s not a talented person. He had very bad ratings.”
Starmer, looking visibly uncomfortable, took a more careful tone. But he made a point.
“This country’s had free speech for a very very long time. It is part of who we are as a country, and it is the values that we fought for. We fought for it during the Second World War alongside each other, so we need no reminding of the importance of free speech in this country.”
For many, though, the issue is far from academic. Just hours before Trump took the podium, former President Barack Obama weighed in online.
“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.”
The warning comes as footage of Vice President J.D. Vance’s earlier free speech comments — made just months ago — is making the rounds again.
“Under Donald Trump’s leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square, agree or disagree,” Vance said at the time.
But it’s hard to square that with what’s happening now.
One high-profile critic dropped. A regulator threatening action. A merger hanging in the balance. And a president who isn’t even pretending he had nothing to do with it.
If this is how Trump treats dissent now — while still courting votes — what happens if he wins again?
Watch the clip below:
