Kimmel Faces Backlash After Trump Joke Before WHCA Shooting

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump both issued statements calling for Kimmel’s firing following the attempted attack

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump both issued statements calling for Kimmel’s firing following the attempted attack. The White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner was attended by the Trumps and several Cabinet officials at the time of the incident.

An ABC staffer criticized the broader direction of the company while defending editorial independence.

“The government should have zero say about who is on air,” the staffer said. “But if I were the head of a media company—news, sitcoms, whatever—I’d think long and hard about the country I wanted to mirror back to my viewers.”

The government should have zero say about who is on air,” the staffer said

“The government should have zero say about who is on air,” the staffer said

The staffer contrasted two different storytelling approaches when describing the network’s cultural impact.

“The ‘Ted Lasso’ model where people are fundamentally good and flawed and trying their best to build in their communities? Or the ‘House of Cards’ model where everyone is cruel, and you get ahead by not caring about anything except your team and its power,” the staffer said.