Trump targeting Kimmel and ABC is just a distraction tactic | Opinion

There's an old adage in politics: Never let a crisis go to waste.

At its best, that means the most advantageous time to shake things up is when folks are already shook about something.

President Donald Trump uses this tactic in a very different way. Trump uses any opportunity to distract Americans from issues that actually matter.

And Trump is willing to use the full force of the U.S. government against his critics if that's what it takes to distract us.

Jimmy Kimmel and Disney-ABC are Trump's targets again because Disney-ABC is letting the late-night show host do his job, telling jokes about some of the most powerful people in America.

Trump is after Kimmel again for a joke made before the WHCD shooting

It was widely reported on April 28 that Brendan Carr, Trump's loyal henchman at the Federal Communications Commission, was gearing up to review and possibly challenge the broadcast licenses his agency issues to Disney for ABC stations.

And, sure enough, Carr had the FCC later that day issue a highly unusual order for Disney, ABC and their subsidiaries "to file early license renewal applications for their television stations." That's the first step in violating the free speech ABC lets Kimmel practice.

Kimmel allegedly offended Trump and his wife, Melania, with a joke in an April 23 sketch on his late-night television show, while pretending to host the April 25 White House Correspondents' Association dinner. "Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," he said in a mock address to people expected to be at that dinner.

That was before a man was accused of crashing the actual WHCD on April 25 and is now charged with attempting to assassinate Trump.

Melania, in an April 27 social media post, called on ABC to take action against Kimmel for what she exaggerated as his "hateful and violent rhetoric." Her husband followed with a post demanding that Kimmel be immediately fired.

Kimmel addressed the renewed controversy during his April 27 show, noting that the joke was based on the age differences in the Trump marriage. (He turns 80 in June; she just turned 56.)

Set aside the fact that Trump has, for 11 solid years now, coarsened America's political rhetoric, often with calls for violence.

It's fine to say the joke wasn't funny. It's anti-American to say the person telling the joke should be punished.

But that's not Trump's real agenda here. He signed his social media post, calling for Kimmel to be fired, with his customary, "Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

That's a tell for Trump.

What could Trump possibly be trying to distract you from? Well, let's see.

He wants your attention on this matter. He sees an opportunity to exploit that attention, to distract you from failings he doesn't want you to focus on. And Carr, as always, is eager to help.

Remember, Trump is also trying to capitalize on the WHCD violence by renewing his calls for the ridiculous ballroom that he wants to build on the site of the now demolished White House East Wing. That project has doubled in cost and grown enormously in scope, but Trump always claimed it would be privately funded.

Except, now his allies in the U.S. Senate expect you to pick up the $400 million tab with your tax dollars. Did you vote for that sort of governmental extravagance in 2024?

And that's just one controversy that Trump hopes to distract you from with the Kimmel nonsense.

The president ran for a second term promising to lower gas prices and reduce inflation. But his no-plan, bombs-away war in Iran has driven up the cost of gasoline and anything delivered in vehicles that run on gasoline.

Trump also desperately wants you to look away from the Epstein files, a sickening tranche of 6 million documents related to the life and crimes of his former friend, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

But now the Department of Justice is being sued for withholding documents, the department's Inspector General is auditing to see if documents were illegally withheld, and the Government Accountability Office also has launched an investigation into the DOJ's handling of the Epstein files.

We saw all this last September, when Trump and Carr went after Kimmel and Disney-ABC for remarks Kimmel made after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Kimmel didn't show support for that violence. He just condemned Trump for politicizing it.

Guess what was going on for Trump during that September? The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform had just released reams and reams of Epstein files that had been provided by Epstein's estate, much to Trump's chagrin.

Sounds like an ideal time for some Trump distraction tactics. Just like now. Again.

Don't fall for it. Stay focused on how Trump's presidency impacts your life. Canceling Kimmel won't alleviate Trump's failures. Give your attention to things that actually matter.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on Bluesky, @bychrisbrennan.bsky.social, and on X, @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.