Jon Stewart tore into the Trump Administration’s attacks on free speech last night, as Jimmy Kimmel prepares to return to TV following his brief suspension.
Stewart suggested that the negative coverage should serve as “cause for self-reflection” for the president, who reportedly put pressure on ABC to cancel Kimmel’s show.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pulled after its host said that the “MAGA gang” were attempting to use the murder of Charlie Kirk to “score political points” by suggesting that the shooter was left-wing.
Trump cheered the Disney-owned company’s decision to axe (LET’ the show, writing “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.”
A mass boycott of Disney’s products, including Hulu and Disney+, quickly followed Kimmel’s suspension while fellow talk show hosts spoke out in defence of their fellow comedian.
Last night, following the news that ABC had agreed to reinstate Kimmel’s show, Stewart poked fun at the boycott in his opening monologue.
“That campaign that you all launched pretending that you were going to cancel Hulu while secretly racing through four seasons of Only Murders in the Building really worked, congratulations,” he said.
Stewart also lambasted the president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump’s suggestion that if Trump removed everyone who criticised him that there would be “a handful of individuals left on television”.
“That’s funny, but maybe a cause for self-reflection,” he joked.
Prominent Democrats and other talk show hosts, including Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers, have cheered the resumption of Kimmel’s show. The programme will broadcast for the first time this evening.
Also, last night, former Vice President Kamala Harris told Rachel Maddow in an interview that Kimmel’s return was a demonstration of the “power of the people”.
“Talk about the power being with the people and the people making that clear with their checkbooks as it relates to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.
“We saw the power of the people over the last few days, and it spoke volumes and it moved a decision in the right direction,” she said.
The Walt Disney Company confirmed in a statement on Monday that representatives had “spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy” before deciding to reinstate the show.
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.
“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” said a spokesperson for the company.
In last night’s monologue, Stewart also aimed at Trump’s claim that taking Tylenol while pregnant can cause autism.
Experts from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have slammed the president’s claims as “irresponsible” and “harmful”.
Stewart said that “Jimmy Kimmel’s flying high like Advil today,” as the president did not mention the rival painkiller brand in his speech last night.
The internet has joined the late-night show host in lampooning the president’s speech, in which he told women to “fight like hell” not to take the drug.
Trump struggled to pronounce “acetaminophen”, the chemical name for Tylenol, during the speech as he urged doctors to limit prescriptions of the painkiller.
The president told medics, “Let’s do it now. Nothing bad can happen; only good can happen.”
