Donald Trump has been sounding off again over Jimmy Kimmel being taken off air as he committed to “a movement to defend the glorious traditions of freedom of speech on both sides of the Atlantic” during his trip to the UK.
Responding to a question about whether free speech is better protected in the U.S. or UK, Trump claimed Kimmel was “fired because of bad ratings more than anything else,” along with “saying a horrible thing about a gentlemen called Charlie Kirk,” the conservative commentator who was shot dead last week.
“Kimmel is not a talented person, he has very bad ratings more than anything else and they should have fired him a long time ago,” said Trump alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a press conference. “You can call that free speech or not, he was fired for lack of talent.” Trump made similar remarks yesterday on his Truth Social platform.
Trump’s comments came after Kimmel was “pulled indefinitely,” not “fired,” by ABC following remarks about Kirk’s accused killer Tyler Robinson and his affiliations. A swathe of criticism from Hollwood and beyond was forthcoming yesterday after Kimmel was taken off air for saying: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Kimmel was supposed to qualify his comments on the following night’s show but was removed beforehand. The move is the latest in a series of concerning anti-free speech developments on American network television after Disney and Paramount settled lawsuits with Trump, and after the Stephen Colbert show was axed by the latter.
Trump said “many British citizens have offered condolences” to him over Kirk’s death including Starmer and he will be journeying to a memorial service on Sunday for Kirk.
“It’s so imperative that we stand together for these fundamental rights,” he said. “Just last week, an American was assassinated for speaking his mind. He was a great young man with an incredible future. I hope together our nations can lead a movement to defend the glorious traditions of freedom of speech on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Trump took questions alongside Starmer following a two-day trip to the UK that has been met with protests and a projection of Jeffrey Epstein onto the side of Windsor Castle.
Trump and Starmer were effusive about the “special relationship” between their two nations.
“The bond between our countries is like no other anywhere in the world,” said Trump, whose mother was born in Scotland and who owns golf courses in the country. “The U.S. and UK have done more good on this planet than any two nations in human history. That is thanks in large part to the traditions of British liberty which grew up on these beautiful magnificent isles.”
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