Mr Kimmel used his show on Monday night to accuse Mr Trump and his allies of capitalising on the conservative influencer’s assassination last week.
The comedian said: “The Maga Gang are desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Speaking on Mr Trump, he added: “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
Mr Kimmel also said that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk”.
Disney-owned ABC said it would be taken off-air indefinitely – and with immediate effect – after network operator Nexstar said it would stop broadcasting the programme.
The move was celebrated by Mr Trump, who wrote on Truth Social: “The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
What happened?
On the Monday edition of his show, Kimmel also drew attention to Capitol rioters who “wanted to hang” Mr Trump’s first term vice president, Mike Pence, for certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
He said: “Was that the liberal left? Or the toothless army who stormed the Capitol on January 6?”
Mr Kimmel called out what he believes is hypocrisy in how Republicans have responded to Mr Kirk’s death.
Those remarks, along with his comments about capitalising on the assassination, saw the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Trump backer Brendan Carr, threaten to “take action” against Disney and ABC.
Mr Carr, in an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, said: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
He then praised Nexstar, adding “it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values.”
Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, said it “strongly objects” to Mr Kimmel’s comments.
“Mr Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” he said, with the show to go off-air to “let cooler heads prevail”.
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Kimmel’s suspension has triggered outrage from Democrats like California Governor Gavin Newsom, who posted on X: “The @GOP [Republican Party] does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.”
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called for people “across the political spectrum… to stop what’s happening to Jimmy Kimmel”.
Celebrities who have guested on his show joined Democrats in speaking out. Wanda Sykes accused Mr Trump of seeking to end freedom of speech, while Ben Stiller tweeted: “This isn’t right.”
A representative for Mr Kimmel did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the cancellation.
Shortly after Mr Kirk’s death last week, Mr Kimmel had said on Instagram: “Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?
“On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
The latest season of Jimmy Kimmel Live averaged 1.57 million viewers per episode, according to media research firm Nielsen – and the show’s YouTube channel has almost 21 million subscribers.
Mr Trump and Vice President JD Vance had been among those to cite “left-wing extremism” as a factor in the killing.
In a separate Truth Social post in the early hours of Thursday, the president – who is in the UK for his state visit – announced the anti-fascist Antifa movement would be designated as a terrorist organisation.
Unions representing writers and actors branded the move as an attack on free speech, and accused ABC of caving to pressure from the White House.
The Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East said in a joint statement: “Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world.”
Kimmel follows in Colbert’s footsteps
The abrupt removal of Jimmy Kimmel Live comes after fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert saw his programme cancelled, which fans claimed was a result of his criticism of Mr Trump.
Mr Trump presents himself as a staunch advocate of free speech, but regularly rails against media organisations which criticise him. This week he launched a lawsuit against The New York Times.
CBS announced in July it would end The Late Show when its current series ends next May.
In a statement, the network said the move was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Mr Trump praised the move, saying “his talent was even worse than his ratings”.
Colbert’s Late Show won an Emmy for outstanding talk series for the first time at the weekend.
Mr Kirk’s suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday. Prosecutors said he had shared negative views about Mr Kirk, an influential media figure in the MAGA movement.
