Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late-night suddenly turned into a referendum on Trump’s fragility. Joe Sudbay of SirusXM nails the absurdity when he describes “the president of the United States who was so thin-skinned, he wanted to take a comedian off the air.” People saw censorship tested in real time, and the instinct to laugh back doubled as resistance. Trump’s attempt to control comedy ended up exposing his weakness instead.
The absurdity lands even harder because Kimmel isn’t a political crusader at all. Susan Demas noted that “basically very few people go into stand-up comedy because they want to be pushing some sort of a political agenda.” That’s what made Trump’s effort to muzzle him so jarring — it wasn’t about partisanship; it was about power. And when Americans are told they can’t even choose what’s funny, they push back with a vengeance.
That pushback matters most on the issues people feel every day. As Sudbay puts it, “when you go to the grocery store and you see how much hamburger costs … Donald Trump can say all he wants. He’s not telling you the truth.” The disconnect between his promises and reality is on display at every checkout line, every farm suffering from tariffs. Economic pain is not a talking point — it’s proof that the myth of Trump the businessman has collapsed.
Voters are bringing that frustration to the statehouse steps. In Virginia, candidates knocking doors hear about affordability and schools, not the bathroom fights Republicans keep peddling. “People have bullshit detectors,” Sudbay says, and they know when leaders are dodging what matters. Early voting is underway, and the state’s diversity makes it a microcosm of the country’s struggle with chaos versus competence.
Tune in to this week’s episode of First Draft!
The Silence on Kimmel's Suspension
The lights went out on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week. Not because his ratings had tanked, or because advertisers were taking a stand, or because some “woke mob” went after him — Jimmy Kimmel and his show were suspended because billionaires who own the American media decided they were willing to capitulate to a dollar-store despot who decided his voice wa…
