Why the MAGA and Kimmel feud is a perfect example of free-speech hypocrisy
A new clash between TV host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel and the Trump administration has highlighted the hypocrisy in its supposed demand for protection of free speech.
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What’s the story?
Could US host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel be the first person to be fired, twice, for making jokes about Donald Trump and his administration?
That’s what the White House wants, after he made jokes ahead of the annual Correspondents Dinner, where a man attempted to storm the event with guns and knives, but failed.
In a lengthy monologue, Kimmel joked about Melania Trump having a "glow like an expectant widow".
This did not go down well with the First Lady.
The First Lady has accused Jimmy Kimmel of "hateful and violent rhetoric", which she says is intended to "divide our country".
"People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate," she wrote.
In recent years, there have been calls – from across the political spectrum – for an end to political violence and rhetoric.
“The rest of us are pulling our hair out saying, 'Hello, have you met the man at the centre of all the political violence rhetoric right now?' He is the one and only Donald Trump,” says Emily Maitlis.
“He has put violent political rhetoric right at the heart of pretty much everything he says every day.”
Trump’s ‘violent political rhetoric’
People have been quick to point out that when Robert Mueller – former head of the FBI – died, her husband was quick to say "I'm glad he's dead", on social media.
When Rob Reiner was murdered, Donald Trump claimed publicly that the Hollywood director had "driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession" with his presidency, of which he had been critical.
He referred to Renee Good and Alex Pretti – innocent citizens killed in the streets of Minneapolis by ICE agents this year, and to migrants as "animals". We could go on.
In 2023 he mocked an attack on former Democrat House speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband, in which Paul Pelosi was hospitalised after being attacked in their home with a hammer.
‘Free speech for me, but not for thee’?
Trump’s MAGA administration loves free speech.
JD Vance has criticised European countries for infringing on free speech rights, while Lucy Connolly – jailed for posting demands to burn down asylum hotels with residents inside – was invited to meet members of the Trump administration after claiming she was a ‘political prisoner’.
“If you believe in free speech, then Jimmy Kimmel can make whatever joke he likes on television,” Jon Sopel says.
“If the audience turns away from him, and there are no ratings, you can be sure Disney executives will fire him very, very quickly indeed.
“But it's not for the White House, that believes in free speech and the sanctity of free speech, or Donald Trump, who has a platform called Truth Social where free speech is venerated, for them to start calling for Jimmy Kimmel to be defenestrated.”
In September 2025 Kimmel’s ABC show Jimmy Kimmel Live! was taken off air after he made jokes about the shooting of far-right podcaster Charlie Kirk, which Trump and his administration didn’t like.