#kimmel

Of course, mocking the sitting president has long been a cornerstone of pretty much any late-night program throughout the medium’s history. Trump has been the butt of countless jokes over the years. What’s happened to Kimmel is an escalation in every way, a chilling precedent that could have further consequences if it isn’t swiftly undone. How Kimmel himself reacts to the situation will be important—he’s a major celebrity, a multi-time emcee of the Academy Awards who’s been hosting TV shows since the 1990s. There’s a chance network television could become even more reticent to broadcast anything remotely provocative, which in turn could also inspire blowback from their audiences.