President Donald Trump increasingly has the same contentious yet symbiotic relationship with late-night television that he has had with the news media for the entirety of his career.
Trump’s denunciations of late-night hosts such as Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert imbue these comedians-turned-commentators with new cultural relevance, even as critics sound the alarm that the president is threatening their First Amendment rights.
Similarly, Trump has been good for the ratings and web traffic of the same media outlets he often denounces as fake news, even as his lawsuits and rhetoric about pulling broadcast licenses are feared to have a chilling effect on free speech.
Individual reporters, just like specific talk-show hosts who have been the target of Trump’s ire, have seen their careers actually prosper after being on the receiving end of repeated presidential insults.
The Trumps’ latest feud with Kimmel is a case in point. Both the president and first lady Melania Trump called for Kimmel’s firing by ABC in separate social media posts after the host’s ill-timed “expectant widow” joke. Days later, a gunman launched an unsuccessful attack on the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in an attempt to assassinate administration officials, possibly including the first couple themselves, who were there attending the function.
Somewhat more controversially, the Federal Communications Commission is seeking early renewal for ABC’s broadcast station licenses. While this is officially a review of ABC’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, it comes after the network declined to fire Kimmel.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also denounced Kimmel from the podium in the briefing room, saying it was “unbelievable that the American people are consuming” his content “night after night after.” Leavitt, who will soon give birth to her second child, attended the WHCA dinner and delayed her maternity leave in response to the attempted shooting.
At the same time, Kimmel rarely gets more attention than when he clashes with Trump or casts himself as a free speech martyr in response to comments about throwing him off the air.
Colbert has blamed Trump for the impending end of his late-night show, which he inherited from longtime host David Letterman. CBS is retiring the Late Night franchise next month.
Democratic elected officials similarly lamented Colbert’s cancellation, attributing it to Trump’s conflict with CBS and Paramount’s proposed merger with Skydance.
The late-night format is in decline, in no small part because hosts are pursuing just one-half of the viewing audience by leaning so hard into politics and becoming uniformly liberal. Changing viewing habits and the end of appointment television outside of live sports have also put a dent in these shows’ ratings.
But the hosts get considerable attention when they fight with Trump. Kimmel saw a temporary ratings surge after he returned from a suspension the network imposed when he made a comment about “MAGA” being responsible for the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk. The suspect in custody, Tyler Robinson, appears to be anything but MAGA.
Kimmel’s latest controversy stemmed from a sketch in which he pretended to emcee the correspondents’ dinner. “Of course, our first lady, Melania, is here,” he said on his show two nights before the actual dinner. He then said she was “so beautiful” and added: “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
The real dinner was then attacked by a gunman who allegedly had interests in assassinating Trump and other officials. The gunman’s manifesto was filled with familiar left-wing anti-Trump talking points.
SUSPECT IN CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SHOOTING DONATED TO KAMALA HARRIS CAMPAIGN
Kimmel has argued his joke was about Trump being nearly 80, having various physical ailments crop up in his second, nonconsecutive term, and his 24-year age gap with the first lady. But it came after two serious Trump assassination attempts and shortly before a third, making it even more questionable taste.
In any event, the latest episode with Trump has likely extended Kimmel’s 15 minutes of fame.