Trump Just Accidentally Wrecked MAGA’s Dumb New Lie About Jimmy Kimmel

After Jimmy Kimmel reappeared on ABC and spoke movingly about President Trump’s failed effort to oust him, Trump lost it on Truth Social and threatened Kimmel yet again. He also threatened to “test” his ability to bully ABC into yanking Kimmel a second time. In so doing, Trump accidentally demolished a big new lie that Fox News and MAGA figures have been making again and again: that Kimmel’s return shows Trump never brought authoritarian pressure on ABC and Disney at all. Trump said, in effect: Actually, I really am threatening government action against them.We think all the confusion signals weakness: Trump and MAGA are losing this battle. We talked to Mona Charen of The Bulwark, who has a great new piece arguing that Trump’s crackdown on speech is “taking a page from dictators.” We discuss just how corrupt the anti-Kimmel effort truly is, how far Trump is getting in suppressing dissent, and why there are grounds for optimism that the culture and civil society are now fighting back. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.