Jimmy Kimmel Being Unfunny Isn’t a Matter for Government

National Review Online

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

 

In a skit last Thursday, ABC’s late-night host Jimmy Kimmel pretended to be the host of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and remarked of Melania Trump, “You have a glow like an expectant widow.” Given that President Trump had already survived two assassination attempts, it was tasteless even at the time. But the remark aged even more poorly when a third aspiring assassin crashed the actual event days later.

 

In a rare statement, the understandably shaken first lady condemned Kimmel, saying, “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.” She called on ABC to “take a stand” against the host. The president himself was more emphatic in calling for Kimmel to be fired immediately. Kimmel, for his part, described the joke as a “light roast” about their age difference.

 

Our view of the matter is the same as it was last September, when Kimmel was briefly suspended after ABC faced threats from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr following a Kimmel monologue perpetuating the lie that Charlie Kirk had been shot by a MAGA supporter. His joke may have been crass, but it also shouldn’t be the business of government officials to police what’s said by late-night comics.

 

To be sure, Kimmel is a unique brand of comic who suffers from the congenital disorder of being painfully unfunny. These days, his routines are more left-wing agitprop than even attempts at humor. And with late shows suffering from waning cultural influence, most of the country only hears about him when he says something stupid. Yet the FCC is preparing to revoke Disney’s broadcast license following the joke. That’s preposterous.

 

During the Biden administration, conservatives were rightly outraged by the revelation that the White House was coordinating with social media companies to suppress views that challenged the government’s draconian Covid policies. Threatening action against a broadcaster over a tasteless attempt at humor would take things further. And it would only throw a lifeline to Kimmel by turning him into the world’s most annoying martyr for free speech. When he returned to air after his last suspension, Kimmel achieved his highest ratings in over a decade.

 

It is perfectly reasonable to argue that left-wing voices should tamp down rhetoric that plays a role in convincing fanatics and mentally unstable individuals that violence is the only solution to what ails the nation. But pointing the finger at Kimmel is to follow the well-worn path on which Bill Clinton tried to blame conservative talk radio for the Oklahoma City bombing, progressives tried to blame Sarah Palin’s congressional “target” map for the shooting of Gabby Giffords, and so forth.

 

While it is true that the FCC can theoretically exert significant authority over broadcast media in the name of the “public interest,” that is an argument for abolishing the agency and not for wielding its power more bluntly.