Was that an apology, Jimmy?
Jimmy Kimmel apologized, sort of. It’s the kind of apology cynical politicians issue after an open microphone catches them saying the quiet part out loud. Sorry if anyone was offended. Sure as heckfire wasn’t Brenda Lee.
“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.” [Red herring: no one said he did.] “Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual.” — Jimmy Kimmel 09-23-25
But our Jimmy did blame a specific group — Trump supporters. Opening monologues on network television are scripted:
“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, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” — Kimmel 09-15-25
Might be believable if the partisan entertainer never took a meat cleaver to Trump and conservatives night after night. (We can take a joke.) Some of my fellow Republicans really are guilty of weaponizing Charlie’s sacrifice for partisan ends. But it was always absurd to blame MAGA for shooting MAGA.
Was never our intention …
To question the sincerity of Donald Trump. (But we sure as hell did!) Could be the President was only being honest when he confessed, contrary to the epistle of Charlie Kirk, that he did not forgive his enemies. Say this for The Donald: he always says the quiet part out loud. Your irascible host confesses that he forgives his enemies if and when they ask for forgiveness, usually after they have been ground into the dirt with the heel of our boot. We’re Old Testament.
• Inscribe this in every courtroom, classroom, newsroom, and Tommy Lee Jones doghouse and outhouse:
Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’ evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free. — Charlie Kirk, May 2024.
• Abolish the FCC. It is a New Deal relic. The original three television networks have pretty much given way to unregulated cable, social media, streaming, and everyone-has-one podcasts.
• Democrats are chugging bottles of Tylenol on TikTok. Gregory Jon says he wishes Bobby Junior would have said something about laxatives, instead.
• Not reading the Kamala Harris book, 107 Days, even though we enjoy schadenfreude more than waking up with Folgers in our cup. But what were her publishers thinking? (!!!) The better title would have been “Nothing Comes to Mind.”
In the last thrilling episode, we ventured that a shuttered nuclear power plant would need be brought on-line in order to power the Nielsen ratings meters for the return of that late-night constitutional scholar Jimmy Kimmel. But two owner groups representing one-quarter of ABC network stations boycotted, instead.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: Jimmy Kimmel played a snippet of Erika Kirk tearfully forgiving “that young man.” Because he wanted some of that sweet forgiveness, too. Progressives blame Big Money for kowtowing to Donald Trump — with some justification. Misses the point. Our free-enterprise system responds to its customers or it goes belly up. Half the country that voted Trump/ Republican is tired of being the butt-end of the elite’s smug jokes (or worse).
America is undergoing a cultural sea change — prodded by the President — and we’re only in the middle of it. Ask Greg Gutfeld.
7 responses to “Who’s sorry now?”
Greg Lukianoff who heads up FIRE. Suggested reading:
“The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All―But There Is a Solution”
From FIRE’s College free speech rankings:
The University of Wisconsin–Madison ranks 101 out of 257 schools in the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings with a score of 59 and an F speech climate grade. The University of Wisconsin System adopted a statement on institutional neutrality – earning the Madison campus a bonus that helped offset penalties from an attempted disruption of Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s talk.
Policy gains aside; students report serious problems. Wisconsin places in the bottom 25 nationally for “Comfort Expressing Ideas,” and no area lands in the top 50, underscoring a campus climate where many students hesitate to share controversial views while a vocal minority remains willing to interrupt speakers.
Wisconsin could make meaningful progress by revising its written policies to move from a “yellow light” Spotlight rating to green and by reinforcing clear consequences for disrupting campus events.
Dagnabit Dave, this was really good!! “Nothing Comes to Mind.” 🙂
Elon Musk who turned FBI Twitter into Free Speech X.
Maybe check out carlos estevez new book about charlie sheen. Plenty of seedy material to work with for sure. He is very good at mugging up to the camera that has never been his problem, it was his darker alterego that has been his issue.
That Kimmel didn’t anticipate the widespread backlash he got shows what a bubble he lives in. Plenty of people who didn’t like or agree with Charlie Kirk were still sickened by clowns like Kimmel ripping him before he was even in the ground. We saw the same thing from elected Democrats when Justice Prosser passed. Guarding Trump’s grave will be a full time Secret Service job.
Maybe Jimmy Kimmel needs to watch some reruns of Johnny Carson to learn what a true entertainer looks like. I definitely miss Johnny Carson!!