President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on former late-night television host David Letterman on Friday, September 19, calling him “highly overrated” and saying “he looks like hell” after Letterman criticized ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.
Trump’s inflammatory comments came in response to Letterman’s defense of Kimmel during the Atlantic Festival, where the retired Late Show host condemned ABC’s decision to temporarily suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live following pressure from FCC chair Brendan Carr and network affiliate groups.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump questioned what happened to Letterman, whose ratings were never very good, according to the president. Trump concluded his attack by calling Letterman a “LOSER” in all capital letters.
The controversy began when Kimmel made comments on the Monday night, September 15 episode, suggesting that the “MAGA gang” was trying to characterize Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer as anything other than one of them while attempting to score political points. These remarks prompted public outcry from Carr, who encouraged affiliate groups Nextstar and Sinclair to push back against Disney by dropping what he called the “garbage” program from their lineup.
Letterman, who retired from The Late Show in 2015 and was replaced by Stephen Colbert, expressed dismay at the situation during his Atlantic Festival appearance. He described the circumstances as “misery” and explicitly defended his good friend Jimmy Kimmel. Letterman characterized the development as managed media and criticized what he saw as an attempt to appease an authoritarian administration.
The former CBS host argued that firing someone out of fear or to curry favor with those in power was not how the system should work. His comments represented one of the strongest defenses of Kimmel from a fellow late-night personality during the controversy.
Trump celebrated Kimmel’s suspension in a separate Truth Social post on Wednesday night, also calling for the suspension of Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and Late Night’s Seth Meyers. The president claimed ABC finally had the courage to do what needed to be done, describing Kimmel as having zero talent and worse ratings than Stephen Colbert.
At a press conference the following day during a visit to the United Kingdom, Trump doubled down on his assertions that ABC dropped Jimmy Kimmel Live purely as a business decision involving viewership. This contradicted the fact that network affiliate groups publicly announced they were preempting the show for political reasons.
The president told reporters that Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else, and criticized him for making what Trump called a horrible statement about Charlie Kirk. Trump maintained that Kimmel should have been fired long ago.
Carr’s encouragement to affiliate groups resulted in immediate action from broadcasters Nexstar and Sinclair, both of which issued statements saying they would drop the program from their lineups. These companies, along with Disney, have pending business deals or are lobbying for deregulation requiring approval from the Trump administration.
The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live prompted swift condemnation from numerous politicians and entertainers, including Barack Obama, Gavin Newsom, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, actress Tatiana Maslany, Late Show host Stephen Colbert, and former late-night hosts Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien.
Several high-profile conservatives, including Senator Ted Cruz, expressed concerns about the federal government’s role in regulating speech, despite their disagreements with Kimmel’s commentary. Cruz warned that embracing FCC license stripping for disagreeable speech could create a dangerous precedent for future Democratic administrations and could hurt conservatives.
The controversy highlighted broader tensions over free speech and media regulation, with Democratic senators expressing grave concern about the FCC’s apparent role in Kimmel’s suspension. Senator Adam Schiff and eight other Democratic senators wrote to Carr demanding answers about the agency’s involvement and justification.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta also wrote to Carr, accusing the Trump administration of waging a dangerous attack on those who dare to speak out against it. Bonta called on Carr to recommit to defending free speech by disavowing his previous remarks about Kimmel.
Trump later threatened legal action against ABC following Kimmel’s return to the airwaves, suggesting the network could face a potentially expensive lawsuit. The president continued his pattern of threatening media outlets over coverage he perceives as negative.
