US President Donald Trump on Tuesday slammed the return of TV host Jimmy Kimmel to broadcaster ABC and hinted at possible legal action against the network.
"I can't believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He accused the late-night host of being an "arm" for the Democrats and called it an illegal campaign contribution, without providing evidence.
"I think we're going to test ABC out on this," Trump wrote. He added that the last time he sued the network, it had paid him millions of dollars, and suggested the current situation looked like it could be even more lucrative.
Last week, ABC pulled Kimmel's talk show "for the foreseeable future" following his comments about the fatal attack on conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier in September.
On his show, Kimmel suggested the suspected gunman, Tyler Robinson, may have had ties to Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
Trump had celebrated the suspension as "great news for America," and urged networks to also drop other TV hosts, including Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, who have often ridiculed the Republican, using comedic barbs to expose political falsehoods.
While Kimmel is set to return to ABC, not all local stations affiliated with the US network agreed to air his late-night show on Tuesday.
TV station owner Nexstar said it would initially keep the show off its local channels, which also broadcast ABC content.
Earlier, Sinclair, another broadcast group, said on X that it was "preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return."
The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC, said the suspension looked to avoid further inflaming a tense political climate. It added that some of Kimmel's remarks had been inappropriate and that discussions with Kimmel over the past days had led to the decision to resume the show.
The incident has sparked debate in the US over how Kirk's death can be discussed. His staunchly conservative views were highly divisive, and critics say the Trump administration's threats to act against commentators reflect an erosion of press and speech freedoms. – dpa
