What Happened Between Trump, Kimmel, and Colbert? A Simple Guide

Jimmy Kimmel and ABC

Let’s start with Jimmy Kimmel, a TV comedian who has a late-night show on a channel called ABC.

• After Kimmel made some comments, ABC (the TV network) said they would stop his show for an unknown amount of time. This is called suspending the show.
• President Trump was happy about this. He said: “Great news for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is canceled. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
  • “Ratings challenged” is a funny way of saying not many people were watching.
• A few days later, Kimmel’s show came back on TV. But Trump then strongly criticized ABC for letting the show return.

Important Point: Trump first celebrated Kimmel’s show being paused, but later complained when it came back.

Trump and Melania Want Kimmel Fired

More recently, things got bigger:

• Trump and the First Lady, Melania, both said Kimmel should be fired.
• Why? Because Kimmel did a funny skit (a short comedy bit) about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
• This skit was recorded and shown on TV a few days before this year’s dinner.
• That dinner had a shooting incident happen around it.

Important Point: The call for Kimmel to be fired came after a comedy skit was made about an event where a shooting later happened.

Stephen Colbert and CBS

Now let’s talk about Stephen Colbert, another late-night TV host.

• CBS (a different TV network) said they canceled Colbert’s show because of money problems.
• But some people, like Senator Warren, worried it was actually because of pressure from the Trump Administration.
• The timing made them suspicious:
  1. Colbert talked on his show about how CBS’s parent company, Paramount, paid Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit.
  2. The lawsuit was about how a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris (former Vice President) was edited.
  3. Colbert called the settlement a “big fat bribe.”
  4. Paramount was trying to sell itself to a company called Skydance Media.
  5. That sale needed approval from the Trump Administration.
• CBS announced Colbert’s cancellation just days after he said all this.

Important Point: CBS says Colbert was canceled for financial reasons, but others think it was political because of his comments about a $16 million deal involving Trump.

Summary

Here is what we learned in simple terms:

• ABC paused Kimmel’s show, Trump cheered, then criticized ABC when it returned.
• Trump and Melania later said Kimmel should be fired over a skit tied to a dinner where a shooting occurred.
• CBS canceled Colbert’s show citing money issues, but many believe it was linked to Trump-related pressure after Colbert criticized a $16 million settlement.

FAQ

1. What does “suspend indefinitely” mean?
It means the show is stopped with no planned date to bring it back.

2. What is a skit?
A skit is a short, funny performance or video, like a mini comedy scene.

3. Why did people think Colbert’s cancellation was political?
Because it happened right after he criticized a $16 million payment to Trump and the sale of his network needed Trump’s okay.

4. What is a settlement?
It is when two sides in a disagreement agree to pay money or make a deal to end a lawsuit.