Randy Fine (R-FL) told CNN anchor Dana Bash that "Jimmy Kimmel may have lost his job but Charlie Kirk got killed while he was engaged in political speech" on Thursday, doubling down on claims that Kimmel was "belittling" Kirk's death.
Bash asked the Republican lawmaker if he was concerned about censorship following threats from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday.
"Here's the speech I'm worried about being censored," he said. "Jimmy Kimmel may have lost his job but Charlie Kirk got killed while he was engaged in political speech. I think that's what people should be worried about."
Fine has called for people "celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk must be thrown out of civil society."
"If you are aware of anyone in the 6th District of Florida — or heck, anywhere in the state — who works at any level of government, works for an entity that gets money from government (health care, university), or holds a professional license (lawyer, medical professional, teacher) that is publicly celebrating the violence, please contact my office. I will demand their firing, defunding, and license revocation," he wrote on X over the weekend.
"If you don’t think I am serious, I got two State University Board Chairman fired for less. These monsters want a fight? Congratulations; they got one," he said.
Bash pushed back on Fine's remarks, playing the clip in question from Kimmel's monologue Monday night, where Kimmel teased the president and MAGA followers over his response to a reporter question about how he's handling Kirk's death and the president's response casually referring to the White House ballroom construction satirizing his reaction as "the fourth stage of grief: construction... this is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend, this is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK."
"What specifically did you have a problem with in what he said?" Bash asked.
Fine claimed that the offensive part was Kimmel saying "MAGA descending to new lows," and argued it was "very offensive" and no one was laughing.
"I don't think this is happening because he's criticizing President Trump," Fine also said. "No one has been criticized more I think in American history than President Trump."
He doubled down on claims that Kimmel was joking about Kirk's death, calling it an "endemic" particularly among young people "that says it's OK to go shoot people." He admitted there are people he works with that he personally despises.
"But belittling and making light of what happened to Charlie Kirk and who did it, I think, is very dangerous for all of us," Fine said.
Nexstar Media Group announced on Wednesday that it is pulling the ABC late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" indefinitely after the comedian made remarks about Kirk's assassination.
Carr had threatened ABC/Disney on a podcast Wednesday ahead of pulling Kimmel's show. Bash described that "money" is an important dynamic at play in the move, including pending major acquisitions and merger deals in broadcast.
"It is a business decision... they are being very clear that they don't want Jimmy Kimmel on the air," she said.
She argued that Kimmel did not blame MAGA for Kirk's death, which Fine continued to try and argue, saying "this isn't free speech."
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney," Carr said. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
