On Monday, speaking to a room full of reporters, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche laid out the case as to why a man armed with guns and knives tried to rush into the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner two days earlier.
As he looked out to the sea of faces, some of whom had been at the event, he told them plainly that they were part of the problem.
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“When you have reporters, when you have media just being overly critical and calling the president horrible names, for no reason and without evidence and without proof, it shouldn’t surprise us that this type of rhetoric takes place,” he told the reporters.
Hours before Blanche made his comments, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made hers, in which she placed the blame on Democrats and the media. Leavitt specifically singled out Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Penn., which was notable since his home was attacked by an antisemitic arsonist in 2025.
“The left-wing cult of hatred against the president and all of those who support him and work for him has gotten multiple people hurt and killed,” Leavitt said.
A day before, President Donald Trump and the first lady pointed the finger at “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host Jimmy Kimmel, who made a joke two days before the shooting happened. In a segment crafted to look like a roast, Kimmel joked that first lady Melania Trump had a “glow like an expectant widow,” as a video of her played.
The president took issue with that, saying in a Truth Social post that “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
The chilling effect and how it works
The threats against the media came to a head Tuesday afternoon after the Federal Communications Commission ordered Disney to file for a license renewal of its owned television stations before May 28. If they do not, the company would likely face a lengthy legal battle to stay on the air.
Before the FCC released the document, Semafor reported that the complaint against Disney, which owns ABC, was not directly related to Kimmel’s joke, despite recent remarks from the administration. Previous comments from FCC Chair Brendan Carr, as early as this month, seem to suggest that his review of Disney’s license was happening regardless of any political violence or off-color jokes.
The allegations stem from a policy change Disney made in 2020. The policy requires productions to meet at least three of the following areas: underrepresented groups comprising 50% or more of regular and recurring written characters, 50% or more of regular and recurring actors, and 50% or more of episodic directors.
But it doesn’t matter whether the move was because of Kimmel’s recent comments. Having the federal government breathing down its neck will make Disney and its subsidiary ABC sweat a little. Experts speaking on the Trump administration’s efforts to block the media have previously said this could lead to self-censorship or a chilling effect.
Previous attempts by Trump to punish the media
The recent dispute between the Trumps and Kimmel is playing out almost exactly as it did less than a year ago. Following the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk last September, Kimmel made a joke that some felt was insensitive. The joke led Carr to threaten media companies in a podcast appearance.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
The threats worked, and ABC officially suspended the show before bringing it back a few days later. But this time is a little different since the FCC has escalated its threats to an official order. Neither Disney nor ABC has said anything to suggest they were considering pulling Kimmel again. The company recently extended Kimmel’s contract until May 2027.
The same can’t be said for fellow frequent Trump critic Stephen Colbert. CBS, which airs “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” announced the show would end in 2026. The cancellation raised eyebrows since CBS’s parent company, Paramount, was in the middle of a merger with Skydance Media. Skydance is owned by David Ellison, the son of Trump ally Larry Ellison.
CBS denied that this had anything to do with Trump and was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.” Previous reporting from Straight Arrow found that CBS insiders told multiple outlets the show was losing up to $60 million annually.
A fight with the federal government is a challenge for even the most hardened business leaders, but it will be Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro’s first test. Despite his greenness, other company officials believe he will come out on top.
“It’s the job of the CEO with their team to figure out the right answer and they’ll be guided by the board,” Disney Chair James Gorman said, Reuters reported. “We have a terrific new CEO, Josh D’Amaro. He’s world-class, so I’m sure he’ll rise to the occasion and do what the right thing is.”
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