Angry Jimmy Kimmel Attacks Newsmax as ‘Little Karens’ and ‘Tattletales,’ for Criticizing Him for Anti-Trump Bias

ABC’s late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is lashing out at the conservative cable news outlet, Newsmax, after one of its hosts, Rob Schmitt, suggested the Federal Communications Commission should take action against ABC. Mr. Schmitt had called out Mr. Kimmel – a prolific Democratic fundraiser and staunch critic of President Trump – for harshly criticizing the SAVE America Act, legislation championed by Mr. Trump, which would require people to show proof of citizenship to register to vote and to show a photo ID when casting their vote. It would also push states to more frequently check their voter rolls against federal databases.Mr. Schmitt criticized Mr. Kimmel for attacking the bill on a “federally regulated network.” ABC is a legacy, over-the-air broadcast network that transmits over free airwaves and is therefore subject to government regulation.“Again, ABC is defiant,” Mr. Schmitt said. “What the FCC is supposed to regulate, ABC breaks that law every single night. And it’s about time they learned a lesson for that. That is not a comedy show, it’s propaganda.”After playing Mr. Schmitt’s comments, Mr. Kimmel said, “I think it was a little of both. Oh, they’re such tattletales, such little ‘Karens.’”“They’re so worried about cancel culture, until I come on and then they’re like, ‘Call the FCC! He’s breaking the law,’” he said. “How does this not embarrass them?”Mr. Kimmel mocked Newsmax over the $67 million settlement it agreed to with Dominion Voting Systems for airing claims the voting company helped swing the 2020 election in President Biden’s favor. “They’re literally on a payment plan right now… for spreading Trump’s election lies,” the ABC host said. “They paid $20 million two months ago for their lies, they have to pay another $20 million in January of next year … But we’re propaganda!”He added, “Newsmax is to the Trump Administration what the Fearless Flier is to Trader Joe’s.”Mr. Schmitt responded to Mr. Kimmel’s comments, writing on X, “Jimmy propagandizes his audience every night then flies off the handle when I call it out.”Late-night comedy shows have leaned into political coverage in recent years – especially Mr. Kimmel’s program and the soon-to-be-canceled “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” – and have long booked mostly Democratic politicians or liberal guests for sympathetic interviews. The handful of Republicans who are booked tend to be critical of Mr. Trump. But earlier this year, the chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, warned broadcast networks that the agency is considering changing the equal time rule — which requires broadcast networks to provide equal time to legally filed candidates if they interview a rival politician — to clarify that late-night and daytime talk shows are subject to the rule.He has also warned broadcast networks against running what he calls a “partisan circus.”Mr. Kimmel and other talk show hosts have not been shy about thumbing their noses at the FCC chairman and using their shows to attack Mr. Trump and Republicans.Mr. Kimmel has poked fun at Mr. Trump’s decision to strike Iran, which the White House says is intended to “eliminate the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime, destroy its ballistic missile arsenal, degrade its proxy terror networks, and cripple its naval forces.”However, Mr. Kimmel claims the strikes were launched as a “distraction” from the Epstein files.“They’re saying this could be worse. And that would mean he’d have to come up with another distraction from the war,” Mr. Kimmel said Tuesday night. “You know what would distract us from the war? Release the unreleased Trump Epstein files!”

Angry Jimmy Kimmel Attacks Newsmax as ‘Little Karens’ and ‘Tattletales,’ for Criticizing Him for Anti-Trump Bias

Angry Jimmy Kimmel Attacks Newsmax as ‘Little Karens’ and ‘Tattletales,’ for Criticizing Him for Anti-Trump Bias

More from the New York Sun

A Return Ticket to New Jersey’s Cape May

Hunt Resumes for Missing Salvadoreans in Haiti After Identities of Returned Bodies Are Unconfirmed

Privilege Meets Its Reckoning in ‘Aftermath’

Netanyahu Attempts To Douse Crypto Firestorm

Trump Denies Plan To Bring Back White House Swimming Pool Amid Raging Press Access Battle

A Midterm ‘Thumping’ for Republicans Could Prompt the Party To Chart a New Post-Trump Course

The Hunger for Hope and a Positive Future

Sinatra Sang Bacharach — but Only Twice

More from the New York Sun

A Return Ticket to New Jersey’s Cape May

Hunt Resumes for Missing Salvadoreans in Haiti After Identities of Returned Bodies Are Unconfirmed

Privilege Meets Its Reckoning in ‘Aftermath’

Netanyahu Attempts To Douse Crypto Firestorm

Trump Denies Plan To Bring Back White House Swimming Pool Amid Raging Press Access Battle

A Midterm ‘Thumping’ for Republicans Could Prompt the Party To Chart a New Post-Trump Course

The Hunger for Hope and a Positive Future

Sinatra Sang Bacharach — but Only Twice