Jimmy Kimmel’s unprecedented return was met with a sense of positivity — he somehow delivered what could probably be read as the most anticipated monologue in late night comedy this year. Kimmel thanked people on both sides of the aisle and gave a heartfelt apology to those who thought he was celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death. Not everyone was pleased, however, as Donald Trump said now that Kimmel is back he’ll be looking into another lawsuit against ABC.
The Trump administration has been accused of jawboning media companies ever since he started his second term. And while other members of his administration have been trying their best to suggest that whether it’s CBS canceling Stephen Colbert’s show or Nexstar preempting Kimmel’s show in vast parts of the country, this is just the free market making its voice heard, Trump himself has been working to ensure that excuse has no legs.
At this point, the FCC Chairman’s threat — “We can do this the easy way or the hard way” — has come to mark the limit the Trump administration has finally run up against in its media tampering. However, it’s worth noting that Nexstar’s 32 affiliates and Sinclair’s 38 affiliates have continued to enforce the Jimmy Kimmel ban — which means his show is blocked from reaching as many as 100 million viewers across the US. His monologue, however, was still posted on the show’s official YouTube channel and remains available globally on demand.
Trump took to Truth Social to share his usual complaints about late-night talk show hosts. It’s rather surprising how Trump has had so many opinions to share about TV shows during his tenure — in between stopping all those supposed wars and his nonstop campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize — but he still took time off to notify ABC that Kimmel has put them in jeopardy now that he is back. Trump added, “The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!… 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.” Which now certainly serves as proof that he is doing what his administration has been trying to deny since the beginning of this saga — censoring comedians who stand up to him.
Donald Trump threatens to sue ABC again over their decision to bring back Jimmy Kimmel.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 24, 2025
“The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!… 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… pic.twitter.com/hy8ykVlYKE
Kimmel might have thanked members of the GOP such as Ted Cruz and even walked back his comments on Kirk’s killer — but make no mistake, he didn’t share the same courtesy with Trump and the FCC. Kimmel mocked how Trump has always admitted to being thin-skinned and even brought on Trump’s longtime adversary Robert De Niro to play a mafia-esque leader of the FCC trying to extort him.
The De Niro bit was actually quite funny and hopefully it can remain a recurring segment. As things stand, Kimmel is probably the most highly sought-after late-night comedian — sure, his reach is now limited, but hopefully he can use his voice to challenge Trump even more now that he has his full attention.
It remains to be seen whether Trump will actually file another lawsuit against a TV show he doesn’t like or whether this was just another one of his bluffs.
