FCC reviewing ABC licenses amid Kimmel UPROAR

Late night host Jimmy Kimmel again made reference to an unsavory joke about First Lady Melania Trump last night, the same day the Federal Communications Commission, FCC, ordered a review of all station licenses owned by ABC.Kimmel has defended his comment and made mention of it three nights in a row.

Our first lady, Melania, is here.Look at Melania.So beautiful.Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.

It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am.

Only Trump would demand I be fired for making a joke about his old age and then a day later, go out and make a joke about his own old age.

A New York Post opinion piece with this headline, Jimmy Kimmel stopped being funny years ago with the tiring crusade against Trump.Now he's lost his decency.Jimmy Kimmel is the latest in a number of celebrities who have joked about President Trump's death.Other examples include actor Charlie Sheen, singer Madonna and comedian George Lopez.Senior White House correspondent Jackie Heinrich is following the story.Jackie.

Harris, it's not just President Trump calling for Kimmel to be fired.Now, First Lady Melania Trump is saying that his violent rhetoric is intended to divide the country and it's time for ABC to take a stand.Here's her senior advisor on Fox & Friends.

This isn't an isolated incident.It's been going on and on and on.And the problem, as you're very well aware, is that there are crazy people out there who are listening to this violent rhetoric, this terrible, political -oriented, violent rhetoric, and they're turning it into action.So, for the third time now, our president has had his life at risk.And it's because of this rhetoric.

Now the FCC, which regulates broadcast television, is ordering Disney, ABC's parent company, to file for renewal of its TV station licenses within 30 days.citing concerns with the company's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.ABC owned station licenses were originally up for renewal between 2028 and 2031, according to reports.The filing does not mention Kimmel, but reads in part, the FCC has been investigating Disney's ABC stations for possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC's rules, including the agency's prohibition on unlawful discrimination.The FCC determines that calling in Disney's ABC licenses for early renewal at this time under the Communication Act's public interest standard is essential within the meaning of agency regulations.FCC Chairman Brendan Carr discussed it on a podcast with Katie Miller, who is married to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

There's evidence suggesting that Disney literally was dividing and categorizing employees based on race and gender, and potentially, we'll see what the evidence establishes ultimately, giving different opportunities to people based on their race or gender or other protected class.And we're going to get some more discovery from Disney on that, but that could raise character questions about the company long term.

A Disney spokesperson told Fox News Digital, ABC and its stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local local communities with trusted news, emergency information and public interest programming.We are confident that record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licenses under licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels.It goes on to say that ABC's focus remains on serving viewers and local communities where its stations operate.

Harris, Jackie, thank you very much.Now, this.

We've got a guy who's president who's acting like a mad king, drunk on power, and unable to focus on anything related to the public interest in the common good.

Every day.Donald Trump is making this nation look more and more like a fascist state.

An authoritarian criminal presidency fueled by corruption and bigotry and an ascendant right -wing extremist movement.

These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.We have heard it all for years now, dangerous anti -Trump rhetoric from the political left.Republicans are squarely blaming the left for fanning the flames as they see a growing trend of political violence.Most recently, the apparent attempted assassination of President Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night.A lot of opinion headlines condemning the left.One, the left's embrace of political violence.

Another, President Trump targeted, again, only a handful on the left act like adults.And this one, the scourge of left -wing violence isn't new.It's only going to get worse.So let's dig in here.Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert is addressing the matter with this headline, when rationalization turns deadly.He's on set with me.

You and I like to go deep on these topics.Look, I don't think it's overplaying it to say that therapists like yourself are on the front lines of this, because you're seeing so much of it in your practice.Tell us about it.

Yeah, we are on the front lines, but my profession is also part of the problem.We have therapists who are advising people, if you don't like how someone voted, if they voted for Trump, just cut them out.We have therapists who I know who refuse to treat someone if they voted for Trump.So my profession is part of the problem here.

Wait a minute, but they have licensing boards.How can somebody say, well, I can't treat you because you voted a certain way?Maybe it has nothing to do with politics.Maybe they're in, like, a divorce situation.How does that play out?

Well, wouldn't it be nice if we could get back to what we were supposed to be?do and that's help people with depression and anxiety and this problem really stems from academic institutions and training programs.

Look I know that we are in a position right now and we're seeing some of Gallup is doing a study I think we ought to just do as many studies as we can to figure out where people really are on violence but like a quarter of people surveyed in the Gallup where their intake of social media seemed to go along with their acceptance of violence to settle a dispute with somebody you don't agree with.

That's true.And I also saw a study where almost a third of people surveyed thought it was OK to commit violent acts.And part of the problem here is we have media, mainstream media, that puts messages out there that Trump is evil, he's bad for the country.And most people can process that and just move on.But if it gets into the head of the wrong person, we see things like what happened on Saturday.

Yeah, so what happens when this comes up in therapy?Because we were talking off camera, you've got patients that you're concerned about.

Yeah, and it does come up quite often.I would say at least half my patient load expresses concerns about Trump.And what I do as a therapist is challenge their thinking and hopefully guide them to a place where they don't feel these irrational thoughts anymore, and they can change their behavior and thoughts.

I want to bring everybody's attention to the screen.We are scrolling right now.Politically motivated violence since about 2022.So as you see this, there's a lot out there.And you see September 10th, 2025, the assassination of Charlie Kirk.Are we in an assassination culture?

Unfortunately, we are, and we have people that we're supposed to trust, whether it's teachers, health care workers, who are just so freely going online and putting out there their thoughts, their hatred towards political figures.And that just creates a conflict.where it almost makes it okay to think such evil thoughts.

Look, Therapy Nation is the book that you've written about this, and I believe you mentioned a nurse in one point, where these are the people that we trust.These are the people that we listen to.So we're vulnerable when we're...I mean, he was tutoring people.Cole Allen, who was the suspected would -be assassin on Saturday night at the dinner.

Yeah, no, absolutely.So, you know, I think people need to really be careful about who they're hiring as a health care provider.

What do we look for, though?I mean, they have good resumes.They went to good schools.He was at Caltech.

Well, that doesn't necessarily mean that they're not biased or putting crazy rhetoric out there.So social media is a good place to look.If you see that they're putting things out there, you may want to stay away.

Jonathan, it sounds like we have to do a bigger deed when we have people around.

Lots to talk about, Harris.

Yeah.Jonathan Albert.

Thank you.

Great.Congratulations on the book.Thank you.

Good to see you.Likewise.Thank you.

Thank you.