Trump's assault on free speech splits the right

After Jimmy Kimmel suspension, president's allies worry moves could backfire.

- BY ANA CEBALLOS AND KEVIN RECTOR

CHRIS PIZZELLO Invision/Associated Press.

A CREW MEMBER at "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" brings in a banner with the comedian's face before the taping of his late-night return.

The return of Jimmy Kimmel to ABC’s airwaves flipped the political script, for a time aligning the late night comedian with several conservative figures who staunchly disagree with federal regulators trying to shut him down over free speech — even as President Trump continued to threaten the network.

"I want to thank the people who don't support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway," Kimmel told viewers during his opening monologue Tuesday night.

Trump in recent days has ramped up efforts to stifle his political opposition and what he perceives to be liberal bias in media coverage through lawsuits and regulatory actions, a move that has increasingly concerned the president's supporters and influential conservative personalities.

The firestorm over free speech came in the wake of comments Kimmel made about how the “MAGA gang” was trying to score political points from Charlie Kirk’s slaying. On a conservative podcast, Brendan Carr, a Trump loyalist who heads the Federal Communications Commission, accused Kimmel of “the sickest conduct” and suggested there could be regulatory consequences for local television stations whose programming did not serve the public interest.

After Disney took “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air at ABC last week, some high-profile Trump allies worried the threat of regulating speech was taking it too far— and that conservatives could be next if the federal government were to follow through.