President Donald Trump stepped up his attacks against ABC and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday, urging the network to “get the bum off the air” in a social media post sent shortly after the comic’s latest episode ended.
Trump struck back in a Truth Social post sent at 12:49 a.m. Eastern. “Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air? Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it?” Trump said. The latter was a reference to ABC affiliates, some of whom got the movement toward Kimmel’s brief suspension started in September by complaining about his Kirk content.
ABC said it would not comment about Trump’s statement on Kimmel, whose ratings saw a bump upon his return to the air in September. While Trump associated him with ABC News, Kimmel works for the network’s entertainment division.
The Epstein case was one of three topics that ABC’s Bruce asked about in pointed questions during an Oval Office news conference Tuesday. The president called Bruce a “terrible reporter” and said he didn’t like her attitude. The Epstein story has clearly gotten under Trump’s skin. Late last week, Trump referred to a Bloomberg News reporter, Catherine Lucey, as “piggy” during a question-and-answer session on Air Force One.
On Wednesday, the White House press office released a letter outlining grievances against ABC News, some dating back to the president’s first term. “ABC ‘News’ is not journalism,” the press office said. “It’s a Democrat spin operation masquerading as a broadcast network.”
There was no immediate comment from ABC News about the criticism.
