U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that he would go after Disney-owned ABC network (NYSE:DIS) for reinstating Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show following his six-day suspension over his remarks on slain political activist Charlie Kirk.
The media and entertainment giant announced on Monday that Kimmel would be brought back after his suspension was criticized by advocates from both sides of the political aisle and triggered a wave of subscription cancellations by users who believe the company participated in curbing free speech.
Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social late on Tuesday and wrote that “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back.”
“The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE,” Trump wrote. “Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE. He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution.”
Trump also expressed the idea of squeezing ABC for more money and mentioned his $16M defamation lawsuit win against the network last year after anchor George Stephanopoulos inaccurately reported on him.
“I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Kimmel’s show was not broadcast in certain regions in the U.S. as Nexstar (NASDAQ:NXST) and Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI), who own TV stations affiliated with Disney’s ABC, continued to preempt it. However, the show’s official YouTube account uploaded the entirety of the programming in pieces shortly after airing it live.