MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace noticed that the women on her former show were dead silent on the free speech battle raging at their network.
ABC's "The View" aired Thursday morning after the bombshell news that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel had been suspended "indefinitely."
At the top of the show, the co-hosts discussed the congressional hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel and his avoidance of the investigation files around trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Their second segment dealt with the fired CDC director and her revelations about the conversations she had with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. Kimmel wasn't mentioned once.
Wallace said that the Kimmel firing comes after the news side of ABC caved in a fight with President Donald Trump over George Stephanopoulos incorrectly stating that Trump was found guilty of rape.
"And it was visible. I was on 'The View.' Those women are fearless, and the story didn't come up. I mean, it's obviously being felt and acted upon at ABC more broadly," said Wallace.
"Yeah, I mean, we are seeing Donald Trump weaponize the federal government to punish critics, to silence critics," said journalist Oliver Darcy, who just started Status.news.
He pointed out that it puts big business in a difficult spot because the Trump government has the power to "make their lives very painful," Darcy added. He specifically cited Bob Iger's deal with the NFL, which Trump could stop.
At the same time, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, both ABC affiliates, are furious over Kimmel's comments attacking MAGA. Nextar is trying to buy TEGNA Inc., which owns 64 other TV stations, WRAL explained in a write-up over the affiliate groups.
However, Trump also appears to have poked a larger bear when he celebrated the cancellation of Kimmel. In a Truth Social post Wednesday night, Trump said that canceling Kimmel and Colbert "leaves Jimmy [Fallon] and Seth [Meyers], two total losers, on Fake News NBC." He demanded NBC, "Do it!" It implies he's telling NBC to cancel their shows as well.
