Trump calls on US regulators to restrict critical media

United States President Donald Trump has suggested that regulators clamp down on critical media, Al Jazeera writes.

The call came on Thursday evening as Trump continued to relish in the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. The backlash against media and others deemed to he disrespectful regarding the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has raised fears that free speech is under attack.

Kimmel’s late-night talk show was taken off the air on Wednesday, with critics pointing to comments he made about Kirk’s murder. The comedian has, in the past, regularly lampooned Trump.

“He made a total FOOL of himself,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, reposting a clip from last year’s Academy Awards in which Kimmel took aim at the US leader.

Earlier in the day, Trump said Kimmel was fired because he said a “horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk”.

Trump told reporters on his return from visiting the United Kingdom that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – which regulates all broadcasts in the US – should consider removing the licences of broadcasters who “hit Trump”.