Kimmel's Call to Action

Four ways Jimmy Kimmel delivered a master class on the power of popular culture to inspire a defense of freedom

“This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”

On Tuesday, Jimmy Kimmel made a triumphant return to ABC after the administration had pressured Walt Disney, the network’s parent company, to suspend him for remarks he made about MAGA trying to score political points from the murder of Charlie Kirk, and for ridiculing Trump for his outward lack of remorse over Kirk’s death.

Kimmel made the most of the moment. In a half-hour monologue that was at times emotional and gripping, he used his return to make a pitch-perfect call to protect democracy that was heard by 6.26 million people on television and (at least) another 26 million on social media.

That’s over 32 million people. About twice the audience for a typical World Series game.

How many of these 32 million people were not paying attention to Trump’s anti-democratic actions before Kimmel talked about them on national TV?

How many of these 32 million will now be tuned in to Trump’s authoritarianism because they watched a trusted entertainer lose his platform for speaking his mind?

How many will be angry?

How many will turn their anger into action?

The message to Donald Trump should be clear: Don’t mess with popular culture.

There are countless people who lack the time or interest to follow politics closely. They may not be aware of Trump’s undemocratic actions because they aren’t exposed to political news. But shut down a popular late night talk show and they’ll take notice.

This gave Kimmel a monumental opportunity to alert people to the grave danger Trump poses to democracy—and he turned it into a triumph for the forces resisting Trump’s authoritarian overreach.

---

Kimmel’s monologue wasn’t easy to write or deliver. Too apologetic and he would come across as weak. Too defiant and he would appear strident. Too much humor would trivialize a tragedy. Not enough risked losing the audience.

Kimmel used the opportunity to deliver a master class on the power of popular culture to move people to political action.

Let’s look at how he did it.