Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“President Donald Trump has displayed an exceptional ability to combine the separate civil liberties abuses of his predecessors into a more comprehensive toxic brew. The latest example involved the ABC television network’s decision to oust late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for insensitive, partisan remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. If ABC’s management had made that decision without pressure from the government, there would be no valid First Amendment issue involved. However, comments that Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi made pointed to government meddling or outright coercion. … Restoring the First Amendment should begin with a concerted campaign to abolish the FCC, thereby preventing any White House occupant from using that agency as a partisan or ideological weapon.” (09/23/25)