In a striking moment of divergence between allies, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade reportedly openly contradicted President Donald J. Trump’s assessment of Jimmy Kimmel’s ouster, even while defending the suspension that has roiled the late-night television landscape.
Speaking from London and later aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Mr. Trump declared that Kimmel “was fired for lack of talent” and that the comedian “had no talent.” The president, who frequently tangled with Kimmel during his time in office, dismissed the matter bluntly: “Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk.”
Mr. Trump added, “Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. He had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago. So you know, you can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent.”
But on Thursday night, during his guest-hosting turn on Fox News Channel’s The Ingraham Angle, Kilmeade pushed back against the president’s claim. “Well, he’s a talented guy,” Kilmeade said flatly. “Even if that was not a good joke, and maybe he’s very anti-Trump.”
Kilmeade, however, emphasized that talent does not exempt Kimmel from accountability, particularly in light of his comments about Kirk’s murder. “When you’re on thin ice with your boss and not performing well, it’s probably not a good idea to tick them off and spout garbage about a political assassination,” Kilmeade said. “It’s not fascism, it’s not the Gestapo taking out a late-night host for what he said. It’s old-fashioned accountability.”
Kimmel, suspended indefinitely after remarks made under the shadow of pressure from FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, is reportedly seething.
Kilmeade pointed to reports from the Daily Mail that Kimmel is “absolutely effing livid” and considering an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s CBS program to air his grievances. Bloomberg, meanwhile, reported that Disney executives are in active talks with Kimmel about the show’s uncertain future.
Still, the president’s comments about ratings struck a chord with Kilmeade. “Meanwhile, Trump is probably on to something,” he acknowledged. “Since 2015, when it comes to ratings, which is the year that Donald Trump stepped into the political arena, Jimmy Kimmel has just cut his audience in half. And it’s far worse — he lost 70 percent of the coveted key demo, young people, 25 to 54.”
That collapse, Kilmeade suggested, left Kimmel vulnerable. “So all this might even work out,” he noted, pointing to reports of ongoing negotiations. “But the fact is, the numbers don’t lie.”
The episode underscored a deeper conservative critique of mainstream media and its stars: while talent may not be absent, responsibility has been.
For Mr. Trump, Kimmel’s downfall was deserved retribution for “a horrible thing” said about Charlie Kirk. For Kilmeade, it was something simpler — an entertainer in decline, undone by his own choices and shrinking audience.
Either way, conservatives appeared to agree on the larger point: Kimmel’s suspension reflected not censorship, but the consequences of years of hostility toward half the country.
[READ MORE: Fetterman Rebukes Democrats for Fixating on Kimmel Suspension as Shutdown Looms]
