Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr was wrong to threaten Disney over remarks that late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel made following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
At the same time, the Kentucky Republican said Disney, the parent company of ABC, has the right to oust Mr. Kimmel if he violates its code of conduct or is unpopular with major affiliates and viewers across the nation.
“Brendan Carr has no business weighing in on this,” Mr. Paul said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But people also have to realize that descipable comments — you have the right to say them, but you don’t have the right to employment.”
“You can be fired for not being popular, also,” he said. “I mean this is television for goodness’ sake — you have to sell sponsorships, you have to sell commercials, and if you are losing money, you can be fired.”
ABC indefinitely suspended Mr. Kimmel and pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from the airwaves after Mr. Carr made it clear that Disney should take action against the host over remarks he made about the fallout from the assassination of Mr. Kirk.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” Mr. Carr said on a podcast.
The comment was widely viewed as a threat.
Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, said the episode is “right out of ‘Goodfellas,’” alluding the classic organized crime movie.
“That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here, it’d be a shame if something happened to it,’” Mr. Cruz said on his “Verdict with Ted Cruz” podcast.
Indeed, soon after the Carr interview, Nexstar, which owns dozens of ABC affiliates across the country and is seeking FCC approval for a merger with Tegna, which also owns several ABC affiliates, announced it would yank “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its schedule.
Mr. Kimmel’s suspension became a rallying cry for Democrats and much of Hollywood, who accused Disney of caving and cast the saga as an assault on the First Amendment.
However, Mr. Trump and supporters celebrated the move, viewing it as a long-overdue response to the liberal, anti-MAGA programming that has been pumped into living rooms across the country for years.
Sen. Roger Marshall said Sunday that the FCC is responsible for “calling balls and strikes” and making sure that public broadcast stations are serving the public interest.
“I think the FCC is saying you have a public interest, you are flirting with what is right and wrong here, maybe you need to take it down a notch,” the Kansas Republican said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Mr. Marshall compared the situation to the fine the FCC levied on CBS following musician Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.
“The FCC didn’t fire him,” Mr. Marshall said of the Kimmel suspension. “He was fired because he was ignorant that he had inflammatory remarks, bad ratings, those kinds of things.”
