Kamala Harris posts support for Jimmy Kimmel and free speech, here's how Elon Musk responded

Former United States Vice President Kamala Harris on September 19 expressed support for late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who's show on ABC was cancelled, following a monologue on Charlie Kirk and his suspected shooter Tyler Robinson. However, the post has taken a turn after billionaire and US President Donald Trump's aide Elon Musk seemed to slam Kamala Harris on the issue using her own post from 2019.

Notably, Disney, the parent of ABC entertainment channel, pulled the plug on Jimmy Kimmel's show “indefinitely”, following backlash from Republican party members, supporters and Kirk's fans online.

What did Kamala Harris say?

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), ex-US VP Kamala Harris addressed pressure from the Trump administration on broadcasters to remove Jimmy Kimmel for voicing opposing opinions.

“What we are witnessing is an outright abuse of power. This administration is attacking critics and using fear as a weapon to silence anyone who would speak out. Media corporations — from television networks to newspapers — are capitulating to these threats,” she warned.

“We cannot dare to be silent or complacent in the face of this frontal assault on free speech. We, the People, deserve better,” she added.

Kamala Harris' post echoes concern raised by other politicians and various experts, that the move to ban Jimmy Kimmel and earlier Stephen Colbert's shows from TV, for voicing anti-MAGA sentiments, infringe upon their First Amendment Constitutional rights.

The US Constitution's First Amendment or the “Bill of Rights”, adopted in 1791, guarantees freedom of speech, among other fundamental rights. These include preventing the US Congress from making laws “respecting an establishment of religion; prohibiting the free exercise of religion; or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances”.

How did Elon Musk respond?

The world's richest man and Donald Trump supporter did not write any words himself, but with a thinking emoji, reposted Kamala Harris's 2019 post asking for Donald Trump's twitter account to be suspended. She wrote: “Look let’s be honest, Donald Trump’s Twitter account should be suspended.”

This is being viewed as Elon Musk's silent question to the former US VP on the free speech and Jimmy Kimmel issue.

Notably, Elon Musk himself has been silent on Donald Trump's recent announcement on H-1B visas, despite earlier expressing support for the system.

He had long defended the H-1B visa as “a vital tool for attracting global talent,” adding that “H1B makes America strong.” In December 2024 he wrote: “The reason I’m in America, along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that make America strong, is because of H1B.”

Trump's FCC behind Jimmy Kimmel's show getting the axe?

On September 18, CNN reported that Disney cut Jimmy Kimmel's programme from ABC “indefinitely” hours after the Trump administration run Federal Communications Commission's chief threatened to pull licences of ABC’s local stations.

Speaking to right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson on September 17, FCC Chair Brendan Carr criticised Kimmel's monologue as “the sickest conduct possible”, adding that the Commission could take back ABC affiliate licenses as a way to pressure Disney to take action, as per a CNN report

The FCC is a US regulator of public airwaves including content and broadcast signals. However, prior to the current Chair's approach, it has mostly been “hands-off”, the report said.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” Carr told Johnson.

Later the same day, in an interview with Fox News, Carr said the FCC would apply similar pressure on broadcasters in the future. “We at the FCC are going to force the public interest obligation. There are broadcasters out there that don’t like it, they can turn in their license in to the FCC. But that’s our job. Again, we’re making some progress now,” he said.

“I can’t imagine another time when we’ve had local broadcasters tell a national programmer like Disney that your content no longer meets the needs and the values of our community. So this is an important turning point,” he added.