President Donald Trump's unprecedented and unconstitutional attacks on late-night comedy show hosts who criticize and mock him are sometimes cast as a war on free speech. But he can't wage a war against perceived enemies if they are so often eager to surrender.
ABC "indefinitely" suspending Jimmy Kimmel's show after comments he made Sept. 15 about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is just the latest example of feckless corporate capitulation during Trump's increasingly autocratic second term.
The companies that create and broadcast late-night programs have now made clear they will comply with any Trump demand for obedience in return for government approvals of their lucrative merger deals. All things with Trump are transactional, even censorship.
Americans should hold Trump and Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr accountable for bullying Kimmel off the air. But we should also blame ABC and the corporations that air its programs, because they value profits more than the First Amendment. It's no coincidence that those corporations all have business deals pending that need FCC approval.
We've seen this before. CBS announced in July the end of Stephen Colbert's late-night show, just ahead of key government approval for an $8.4 billion Paramount merger with Skydance Media. The FCC signed off on that deal a week after the ax fell for Colbert, who excels at skewering Trump.
