White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that the administration had any role in ABC’s indefinite shelving of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following the host’s monologue on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

She also criticized former President Barack Obama for alleging that the Donald Trump administration “threatens” news organisations critical of the US president.“I can assure you it did not come from the White House and there was no pressure given from the president of the United States. How do I know that? Because I was with the president when this news broke in the United Kingdom,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital.

She added that Trump was “unaware” of the decision, which she said was made solely by ABC because Kimmel, a vocal Trump critic, “chose to knowingly lie to his audience” about Kirk’s death during a period of national mourning. Leavitt also echoed Trump’s remarks that the show was taken off air due to poor ratings, which she described as “gutter”.Turning to Obama, Leavitt said, “With all due respect, he has no idea what he is talking about. The decision to fire Jimmy Kimmel and to cancel his show came from executives at ABC. That has now been reported.” Obama had criticised the current administration on X, writing that it “has taken cancel culture to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.”

Kirk, a Trump ally, was shot and killed on September 10 at a university campus in Utah. Kimmel addressed the assassination five days later, criticising Trump supporters for “characterising that the killer (Tyler Robinson) is not one of their own.”Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr, appointed by Trump earlier this year, had warned of “consequences” for stations that continued to air Kimmel’s programme. ABC’s decision to shelve the show has sparked widespread discussion and controversy.