The View, a program on ABC, could be subject to a Federal Communications Commission review, said chairperson Brendan Carr. His remark comes right after the network suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s show after the host’s remarks on Tyler Robinson, the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect, drew backlash.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr had asked ABC and local affiliates to take action, after which Jimmy Kimmel’s show was suspended by the network for an indefinite period. (AFP)

The network’s decision had also come after Carr’s statement regarding Kimmel’s comments on Benny Johnson’s podcast, where he asked ABC and local affiliates to take action.

What Brendan Carr said about The View

FCC Chair Carr spoke about The View when appearing on conservative commentator Scott Jenning’s podcast. He wondered if The View qualified as a ‘bona fide’ news program, one which discussed current events.

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“I think it’s worthwhile to have the FCC look into whether The View, and some of these other programs that you have, still qualify as bona fide news programs and therefore are exempt from the equal opportunity regime that Congress has put in place,” he said.

Carr noted that if the show did qualify, they’d have to adhere to FCC rules of equal time – which mandates that broadcast stations give equal airtime and access to competing political candidates.

Donald Trump’s comment on networks

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump – who welcomed Kimmel’s show being suspended – suggested that networks should lose broadcast licenses if their on-air talent were to be critical of him.

Onboard Air Force One Trump told reporters, “They’re giving me all this bad press, and they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away.” He was responding to whether Carr should go after other talk show hosts after Kimmel’s show was suspended indefinitely.

“When you have a network and you have evening shows and all they do is hit Trump, that’s all they do — that license, they’re not allowed to do that. They’re an arm of the Democrat Party,” Trump added.

Jimmy Kimmel’s fellow ABC talk show hosts at “The View” made no mention of his sudden suspension on Thursday morning, after he was benched “indefinitely” for his comments about Charlie Kirk’s killer.

“The View” is also a property of ABC, so criticizing the move would mean criticizing their own network. The hosts also remained silent earlier this year when the Trump White House threatened that “The View” would be next to get canceled after “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” In the penultimate episode of Season 28, they ignored the threat entirely.

A representative for “The View” did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment

That said, host Joy Behar has long been outspoken about the need for comedians to be able to speak freely, reiterating as much following Colbert’s surprise cancellation.

“It’s always been the role of the court jester to make fun of the king. That is the role of comedians,” Behar said at the time. “I have said on this show years ago, when they start coming for the comedians, all bets are off. Because the king is supposed to take the hits.”

In the same show, moderator Whoopi Goldberg addressed Colbert directly, telling him “we’re supporting you” and “we got your back.”

Earlier this week, Whoopi also called out Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying she “is blurring the lines when it comes to what constitutes hate speech” after threatening to “target” anyone celebrating the assassination of Kirk.

“I always thought that this administration campaigned on ending the weaponization of free speech,” Whoopi said on Tuesday.

Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC Suspension Widely Denounced as Attack on Free Speech: ‘A Wild Overreaction’

“I know there’s a lot of stuff people say that I don’t like,” she continued. “I don’t like it, but as an American, I have the right to say I don’t like it, and they have the right to say it. I will fight for their right to say stuff I don’t like, because I will say stuff they don’t like and I don’t want them up my behind about it either. So I don’t understand.”

Kimmel was pulled from air for his comments following Kirk’s killing, in which he said “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

Before his death, Kirk asserted that hate speech wasn’t real as he posted vitriol about marginalized groups himself. In a 2024 social media post, he wrote that “There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment.”

“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.