Obama Slams Kimmel Suspension, Urges Media To Stand Up To Trump Team’s “Dangerous” Cancel Culture

Former President Barack Obama weighed in Thursday on the controversy surrounding ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing regulatory threats to silence media voices. In a pair of widely shared posts on X, Obama said the government’s pressure campaign against broadcasters marks a “new and dangerous level” of cancel culture.

“This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent,” Obama wrote, urging media companies to “stand up rather than capitulate.”

After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like. https://t.co/uts7JpJZzN

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 18, 2025