Kamala Harris tore into President Donald Trump, accusing him of gutting free speech after ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel from the air over remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing.
The former vice president joined Barack Obama in slamming what she called Trump’s “abuse of power” after the Federal Communications Commission threatened ABC over Kimmel’s monologue.
A wave of Democrats, including Harris’ running mate and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and high-profile talk-show comedians, have slammed the Republicans for targeting their critics under the guise of taste and decency.
Hard-right activist Kirk was killed Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University.
Harris and Trump have clashed openly since his return to the White House in January, a feud that likely escalated in August when he revoked her Secret Service detail.
“This administration is attacking critics and using fear as a weapon to silence anyone who would speak out. Media corporations — from television networks to newspapers — are capitulating to these threats,” she wrote on X. “We cannot dare to be silent or complacent in the face of this frontal assault on free speech.”
Abigail Jackson White House spokeswoman, brushed off Harris’ comments.
“As someone who actually knows what it’s like to be censored, President Trump is a strong supporter of free speech and Democrat allegations to the contrary are so false, they’re laughable,” said Jackson.
“Where were these clowns when Joe Biden was demanding Meta censor average Americans for sharing facts about COVID? Or when Joe Biden’s FBI investigated parents for expressing concerns at school board meetings? They don’t care about free speech, they just hate President Trump and all the Americans who voted for him,” she added.
ABC announced Wednesday that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be suspended indefinitely over remarks he made about Kirk’s killing.
Obama has weighed in, reminding Trump’s base that the First Amendment protects all voices, including those critical of the MAGA movement.
“This commentary offers a clear, powerful statement of why freedom of speech is at the heart of democracy and must be defended, whether the speaker is Charlie Kirk or Jimmy Kimmel, MAGA supporters or MAGA opponents,” Obama wrote on X, sharing two links to illustrate his point.
Kimmel’s show was pulled following controversy over his monologue, in which he referenced Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect in the killing.
“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 said.
Kirk’s death has fueled debate over free speech, and the controversy lands amid an especially volatile stretch for U.S. politics, marked by last year’s assassination attempt on Trump and the killing of Democrat Melissa Hortman on June 14.
Robinson was charged Tuesday in Kirk’s killing. Trump and other Republicans have painted the shooting as an act of “radical” left-wing violence, even as Democrats have faced a string of violent attacks this year.
