Well, Jimmy Kimmel’s “cancellation” lasted barely a week, and Trump threw fits about the return and threatened to sue Disney (again). Nearly everyone I follow weighed in on what the cancellation and return means (or doesn’t mean), including John Oliver, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Josh Johnson, Adam Conover, Robert Reich, and Brian Tyler Cohen. I think the general concensus is that the fight is far from over, but that public outcry snatched victory from the jaws of political intimidation. Also several of them noted that the consolidation of the media landscape is really not making this easier. Well, easier for aspiring dictators. But not for the rest of us.
Other things you need to know this week:
- Adam Kinzinger has another good week in review.
- There was a Charlie Kirk Memorial Rally, apparently. The Even More News crew breaks it down for you.
- In equally bizarre news, there is apparently such a thing as “Escaltategate” now. Seriously, what a whiny bitch. For full details, you can consult Seth Meyers or Jimmy Kimmel.
- On The Daily Show this week, Leslie Jones’ explores systemic racism and how the MAGA crowd is trying to pretend it doesn’t exist.
- Apparently, Trump is sending troops into Portland now.
- And, in other breaking news, the Supreme Court allows Trump to fire an FTC member. Strict Scrutiny has an emergency video that explains the ramifications pretty clearly.
- I mentioned Steve Burns’ new podcast Alive last week. The first two episodes weren’t particularly political, but, in the third, he asks Representative Ro Khanna what’s happened to the American Dream?
I suppose our hope for the week is that Kimmel is back on the air. Now, as I said last week, I’m not the greatest fan of the man, though he has been known to make me chuckle. But, like most everyone else, I agree that he really knocked it out of the park with his first monologue back. As I write this, the YouTube version is closing in on 22 million views; if you aren’t yet one of them, you really should check it out. Trying to be funny after some dark event has occurred is a tricky thing to manage, but I think Kimmel hit all the right notes: he is just as emotional when talking about Kirk’s actual death as he is biting when referring to the right-wing ghouls trying to capitalize on it. The accolades are all well-deserved.