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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., broadcast mixed signals on Thursday with his message to one of the TV providers preempting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Nexstar Media Group announced Wednesday it would continue to preempt late-night host Jimmy Kimmel from its ABC affiliate stations after Disney lifted his suspension following his controversial comments about the Charlie Kirk assassination. Nexstar’s station in Burlington, Vt., is among those not airing Kimmel.
“Decisions about what Americans watch shouldn’t be dictated by political pressure,” Sanders wrote on X. “Nexstar must immediately restore Jimmy Kimmel to viewers in Vermont and across the U.S. Broadcasters should not cave in to an authoritarian-type president who can’t accept criticism.”
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Critics quickly accused Sanders of not living by his own words.
“Government officials bullying media companies is wrong and that’s why a U.S. Senator is here to bully media companies,” conservative X personality Sunny reacted.
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“You’re applying political pressure, Bernie,” Red State writer Bonchie told the senator.
Included in his X post was a letter Sanders sent to Nexstar CEO Perry Sook decrying how his constituents were unable to see Kimmel’s monologue on television Tuesday night and had to watch it online instead.
“Decisions about what Vermonters and the American people can and cannot watch on television should not be dictated by political pressure from President Donald Trump, his hand-picked Federal Communications Commission Chair (Brendan Carr), or any other government official, regardless of their ideology,” Sanders told Sook. “The role of a broadcaster is to serve the public interest – not politicians who seek to silence and censor criticis and comedians who they do not like.”
Sanders went on to call the move “un-American” and a “dangerous precedent for censorship of the media and political speech.” He also suggested that Nexstar’s battle with Kimmel is tied to the company’s forthcoming $6 billion merger with Tegna.
Neither representatives for Sanders nor Nexstar responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
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Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group are continuing to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on their ABC stations, totaling more than 60 around the country, roughly a fifth of all ABC stations.
Kimmel drew intense backlash after he falsely insinuated that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect in the Kirk assassination, was part of the “MAGA gang” despite reports he had a left-wing ideology, which was reaffirmed in the indictment filed the next day.
“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 told his audience last week.
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After being sidelined by Disney, Kimmel returned to his show on Tuesday to give an emotional monologue, though stopping short of offering an explicit apology. Fox News Digital previously reported that Nexstar and Sinclair wanted a “sincere” apology before allowing his show to air.
“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said as he tearfully choked up. “Nor was it my intention to blame a specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual… I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This was a sick person who believed violence was the solution. And it isn’t. Ever.”
The following day, Nexstar and Sinclair decided to continue preempting Kimmel’s show.
Kirk’s supporters panned Kimmel’s walk-back attempt, many of them calling out the ABC host for not owning up to the falsehood.
“Kimmel is an unrepentant liar who tried to blame Charlie’s assassination on the part of the country that just spent the last 2 weeks praying and holding vigils,” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet reacted. “What he’s really saying is that he still thinks it’s fair game to slander conservatives. He would rather advance his own political and cultural agenda than confront the truth. The truth is that his own side has been fanning the flames of political assassinations for years. The truth is that someone on the left picked up a gun and murdered someone on the right who advocated for peaceful debate. It’s critical that liars admit they lied. There can be no restoration without that. Anything short of that is a fake and scripted cry line designed to endear him to his fans, not to make right the wrong he committed.”
“It’s critical that liars admit they lied. There can be no restoration without that. Anything short of that is a fake and scripted cry line designed to endear him to his fans, not to make right the wrong he committed,” Kolvet added.
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