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President Trump announced on Tuesday that he will “test” ABC after the network reversed course and allowed Jimmy Kimmel back on the air, charging that the move amounts to an illegal campaign contribution to the Democratic Party. The president’s outrage reflects the anger millions of Americans feel toward a media establishment that treats conservative voices as disposable while giving left-wing entertainers a free pass.
ABC’s flip-flop — pulling Kimmel off the air after pressure from the FCC, then quietly reinstating him after a weekend of hand-wringing and corporate back-channeling — shows a network more interested in protecting its image than doing what’s right for viewers and employees. Major station groups like Nexstar and Sinclair refused to carry the show even after ABC’s about-face, which proves local broadcasters still answer to their communities when the big network won’t.
Trump reminded the public of the leverage he’s used before, pointing out past settlements with big media and calling ABC a “true bunch of losers” for resurrecting Kimmel. That line about testing ABC — and the reminder of a previous multimillion-dollar settlement — wasn’t just bluster; it was a warning that the media elites can expect pushback when they openly function as the cultural arm of one party.
Legal experts, however, say the president’s claim that ABC’s decision is an illegal campaign contribution is weak on the law. Campaign-finance practitioners point to the long-standing “media exemption,” which protects news stories, commentary and editorials distributed by broadcasters from being treated as prohibited corporate contributions — meaning a comedian’s political barbs on an entertainment program are usually not a campaign-finance violation. Those legal realities don’t excuse bias, but they do complicate a quick courtroom victory.
None of this should let anyone forget the real problem: weaponized regulators and a hospitable corporate culture that rewards partisan attacks on conservatives while punishing dissenting viewpoints. FCC jawboning into editorial decisions — publicly threatening licenses and pressuring private companies — sets a chilling precedent that should alarm every defender of free speech and free enterprise. We can oppose media bias and also oppose government coercion; both dangers deserve exposure and remedy.
Patriots in the media-consuming public and in conservative leadership need to keep the pressure on: demand transparency from the networks, support independent local affiliates that refuse to be political echo chambers, and push for reforms that protect speech without letting regulators run amok. This fight isn’t just about one late-night host — it’s about whether the American people will tolerate a two-tiered system where elites are sheltered and everyone else pays the price.
