‘Absolutely Inappropriate!’ Rand Paul Smokes Trump’s FCC Chair for Going After Kimmel

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) blasted FCC Chair Brendan Carr on Sunday, saying the Trump-appointed official had “no business” publicly suggesting ABC should suspend late-night host Jimmy Kimmel earlier in the week. He also ripped Kimmel at the same time, saying the host made a “reprehensible” comment when he suggested the man who killed Charlie Kirk was a supporter of President Donald Trump.

Paul shared his thoughts on the matter while appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press. Host Kristen Welker asked the senator what he thought of Carr saying the FCC would pursue “remedies” against Kimmel, if ABC did not punish him first.

“Absolutely inappropriate. Brendan Carr has got no business weighing in on this,” Paul told Welker.

He then moved on to bashing Kimmel for his comment, which he made on his ABC show last Monday, suggesting 22-year-old suspected killer Tyler Robinson was a MAGA fan.

“Despicable comments, you have the right to say them, but you don’t have the right to employment,” Paul said. “Virtually everybody employed, probably including yourself, has a code of conduct in your contract that you have to adhere to. NFL players have it, Major League Baseball players have it, and if you don’t adhere to that conduct, if you say things that are reprehensible, that glorify someone’s death or make fun of it in some way, yeah, you can be fired. So the FCC should have nothing to do with it.”

Here is what Kimmel said on his program last Monday:

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”

Kimmel was criticized by many for the claim, considering the reported details point to Robinson being a leftist. Robinson reportedly had a romantic relationship with his trans roommate, used phrases associated with Antifa, and, in text messages released on Tuesday, said he shot Kirk because of the conservative influencer’s “hatred.” Utah officials have said Robinson was “indoctrinated” in far-left “ideology” in the years leading up to Kirk’s murder.

ABC suspended Kimmel on Wednesday, after pushback from Nexstar and Sinclair, the companies behind its biggest affiliates, and hours after Carr said he felt a suspension was warranted.

“I mean look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said on Wednesday. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Paul, on Sunday, said it is fine for Kimmel’s advertisers and affiliates to call for his show to be canceled. But he does not want to hear Carr or others at the FCC weighing in on it.

You can watch the clip above, via NBC.