Ted Cruz is the latest to wade into the fray following the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” by ABC. There is no love lost between Cruz and Kimmel, with the Texas senator saying he’s “thrilled” that ABC pulled the late night host.
But, surprisingly, Cruz isn’t exactly on Trump’s side either.
On a Friday installment of Cruz’s podcast “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” Cruz said that he likes FCC Chairman Brendan Carr — who threatened ABC after Kimmel made comments during a Monday monologue about the death of Charlie Kirk. Yet Cruz also said he thinks Carr’s comments and involvement in the situation are “dangerous as hell.”
“[Carr] threatens it, he says, ‘We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way,’” Cruz noted, imitating a mob boss for his impression of Carr. “I’ve gotta say, that’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.’”
Cruz went on to say that, while he is glad that Kimmel was fired (though, in actually, Kimmel was merely suspended indefinitely), he thinks the FCC continuing to monitor content in this way would be bad for everyone — conservatives included. He compared the situation to “The Lord of the Rings” and the evil attraction of the ring of power.
“I’ve gotta say, look, I understand. Jimmy Kimmel has mocked me so many times I cannot count. The corporate media, they’re dishonest, they are liars, I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said. I am thrilled that he was fired. But let me tell you, if the government gets in the business of saying, ‘We don’t like what you, the media, have said. We’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like,’ that will end up bad for conservatives.”
