De Niro’s Mafioso FCC Sketch on Kimmel Ignites Trump’s Late-Night Fury, Sparking Free Speech Firestorm

By James Poniewozik and Michael M. Grynbaum Washington — Dec. 4, 2025

President Donald J. Trump, whose second term has seen an intensifying crusade against perceived media enemies, turned his sights on “Saturday Night Live” on Friday, vowing to “cancel that clown” — a reference to the show’s longtime Trump impersonator, James Austin Johnson — after the comedian used his opening monologue to defend suspended ABC host Jimmy Kimmel. The threat, posted to Truth Social amid a torrent of Epstein-related scrutiny, capped a week of White House fury over late-night satire and prompted a rare bipartisan rebuke from broadcasters and lawmakers. As FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, signaled a review of NBC’s license compliance, the episode has plunged the administration into a fresh culture war skirmish, with aides privately fretting over the optics of a president who once thrived on TV now seeking to shutter it.

The flash point arrived during “SNL’s” cold open, where Mr. Johnson, 36, reprised his eerily accurate Trump impression — complete with furrowed brow and orange-hued tan — to riff on Mr. Kimmel’s recent three-day suspension over Epstein quips. ABC pulled the plug on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” last week after Mr. Kimmel’s monologue mocked Mr. Trump’s reluctance to release Jeffrey Epstein’s files, prompting Mr. Trump to gloat on social media: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.” Mr. Johnson, channeling the president’s bombast, interrupted a mock “Weekend Update” segment on free speech. “I’m just here keeping an eye on SNL, making sure they don’t do anything too mean about me,” he drawled, adding: “Daddy’s watching — and if you expose me like Kimmel did, you’re next. Quiet, piggy!” The line, echoing Mr. Trump’s recent slur against a Bloomberg reporter probing Epstein, drew howls from the Studio 8H audience and instant viral clips, viewed over 12 million times on YouTube by Saturday morning.

Mr. Trump’s retaliation was swift, arriving at 1:15 a.m. Saturday in a 300-word Truth Social thread. “SNL’s so-called ‘comedy’ is a disgrace — boring, low-rated trash that hates America! James Austin Johnson, that failed actor, thinks he’s funny defending a has-been like Kimmel? WRONG! NBC, cancel that clown NOW or face the consequences. FCC is watching — your license is on the line!” The post, amplified by MAGA influencers and viewed 25 million times, marked an escalation from Mr. Trump’s earlier salvos against Mr. Kimmel, whom he accused of “defamation” for joking about Epstein’s “Lolita Express” flights carrying the then-businessman in the 1990s. It also echoed his first-term gripes about the show, when he hosted in 2015 and later demanded investigations into its “fake news” sketches.

At Rockefeller Center, “SNL” producers Lorne Michaels and Bowen Yang responded with a cheeky on-air disclaimer: “A message from the White House — don’t do anything too mean about the president. Or else.” Mr. Johnson, in a post-show interview with NBC insiders, shrugged off the threat: “It’s flattering, in a Stockholm syndrome way. Trump watches — that’s the real exposure.” But behind the levity, tensions simmer: NBCUniversal executives, already stung by a 15 percent ratings dip for late-night amid cord-cutting, huddled Friday night to assess FCC risks. Chairman Carr, who orchestrated Mr. Kimmel’s suspension by pressuring ABC affiliates, tweeted: “Broadcast indecency has consequences. NBC should review compliance — satire stops where threats to national security begin.”

The White House meltdown unfolded in real time. Aides, monitoring the East Coast feed from Mar-a-Lago, described Mr. Trump erupting mid-sketch, hurling a remote at a screen and dictating posts to his social media director. “He’s obsessed — Kimmel started it, but SNL lit the fuse,” one communications official said, speaking anonymously to detail the chaos. The outburst compounded a bruising week: Mr. Trump’s approval among young voters, per a new Gallup poll, cratered to 32 percent, with late-night clips cited as a key factor. Epstein’s shadow loomed large; the files’ Dec. 20 release deadline, mandated by Congress over White House veto threats, has fueled bipartisan demands for transparency, with Democrats like Sen. Mark Kelly linking it to Mr. Trump’s past praise for the financier as a “terrific guy.”

Broadcasters rallied in defense. Disney CEO Bob Iger, whose ABC reinstated Mr. Kimmel after a subscriber boycott slashed Disney+ by 200,000 accounts, issued a statement: “Comedy is the canary in the coal mine for free speech — threats like this endanger us all.” CBS, post-Colbert cancellation, joined a coalition letter to Congress warning of “authoritarian overreach.” Late-night peers piled on: On “The Tonight Show,” Jimmy Fallon quipped, “Trump wants Kimmel fired? Tell him to try stand-up — he’d bomb harder than his golf swing.” Stephen Colbert, now hosting a podcast after his show’s axing, posted a video toast: “To Jimmy — the last man standing against the orange tide.” Democrats, eyeing 2026, seized the moment: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised Mr. Kimmel on the floor as a “truth-teller,” while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., introduced a resolution shielding broadcasters from political retaliation.

At Mar-a-Lago, the frenzy spilled into strategy sessions. Mr. Trump, golfing amid the din, dictated follow-up posts from his cart, railing against “Hollywood elites” and teasing a “major announcement” on media reform. Aides, juggling Epstein fallout — with the first files due Dec. 20 — urged restraint, fearing a Streisand effect. “He’s nuts about this — it’s personal,” the adviser said. “Epstein hits too close; Kimmel made it a punch line.” Polling from a Republican firm showed Mr. Trump’s approval slipping to 40 percent among independents, with late-night clips cited as a turnout suppressant for midterms.

For Mr. Kimmel, the dust-up is a double-edged sword. His ratings, steady at 2.1 million viewers, spiked 25 percent post-suspension, but ABC executives worry about advertiser pullouts from boycotts by groups like the Family Research Council. “Comedy’s our last free speech frontier,” Mr. Kimmel told guests post-taping, per a network source. “Trump can tweet all he wants — we’ll keep the mic hot.”

The saga underscores a presidency where pop culture bleeds into policy, and vice versa. Mr. Trump, once a reality TV king, now wars with its satirists as if they wield gavels. Historians liken it to Nixon’s “last-night letter” to critics, but amplified by algorithms. “Late-night isn’t just jokes; it’s the opposition’s megaphone,” said Kathryn Cramer Brownell, a media historian at Purdue University. “Trump’s meltdown? It’s fuel for Kimmel — and a reminder that in the attention economy, outrage is the ultimate ratings grab.”

As Friday faded, Mr. Trump retreated to a donor dinner, where he reportedly vowed: “Kimmel’s done — watch.” But with Epstein’s shadow looming and late-night unbowed, the takedown may prove less a destruction than a detonation — leaving Mar-a-Lago smoldering, and Washington chuckling. In a divided nation, one man’s meltdown is another’s midnight muse.