What exactly are we supposed to “ask” Kimmel and Colbert? CBS said Colbert’s show was canceled for financial reasons and is ending the entire Late Show franchise, not merely replacing Colbert. The timing understandably caused suspicion because Colbert had criticized Paramount’s settlement with Trump, but suspicion is not proof that Trump ordered CBS to fire him. Kimmel is a somewhat different case. ABC temporarily suspended him following his comments about Charlie Kirk’s killing, and the network and its affiliates said they made their own programming decisions. However, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s public pressure and talk of regulatory consequences was inappropriate and deserves criticism. Kimmel was nevertheless back on the air within days and continues to criticize Trump. That is hardly proof that Americans are no longer free to discuss political subjects. The First Amendment prevents government censorship; it does not guarantee a television personality permanent employment or freedom from an employer’s programming decisions. And if government pressure on private media companies is the standard, we should apply it consistently. Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that senior Biden administration officials repeatedly pressured Facebook to suppress COVID-related content, including humor and satire, and said that pressure was wrong. Therefore, concerns about political interference with speech did not suddenly begin with Trump. There are legitimate questions about government pressure in the Kimmel matter, but Colbert’s cancellation has never been proven to have been ordered by Trump. Turning two corporate television decisions into proof that Americans cannot speak freely is a considerable exaggeration.
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