Good to see Kimmel back on TV last night and good to see that Disney had a rethink about the consequences of their decision to suspend him under pressure from the FCC which, itself, was driven by Trump. Doubtless, a combination of loss of streaming revenue and the protests of many left leaning actors/ writers/ directors upon whom their Tv/film/ streaming enterprises depend had some part to play but the greater reason may have been that even this hugely powerful media company, perhaps the archetypal example of "cultural imperialism", has belatedly realised that it needs to stand up to a POTUS who sets aside the First Amendment simply because he detests criticism of any kind and seeks to line his own pockets at every turn.

Kimmel's original monologue -the one that got him into trouble- was rather uncharacteristically clumsy but whilst it does not look too good in black and white, I believe that 68 was right when he said that the nuance was that he was saying that Kirk's killer may not have been a MAGA supporter, but he was born of MAGA stock. In his come-back monologue, Kimmel apologised for any upset caused by his comments but did not row back on them, instead making some salient points about free speech. IMHO, he did this quite thoughtfully even whilst continuing his ridicule of the Orange One.

Political satire has long been a way of engaging people in debate and where it flourishes, it is generally a sign of a healthy democracy/ culture. Trump, however, does not want true "free speech" he only wants the media to say positive things about him. Why should what is happening to some Hollywood American late-night talk show host matter to us in the UK? Because our own current debate on what constitutes free speech frequently mirrors what is happening in the US and because Trump, Vance and Musk-all of whom pose threats to the concept - have all waded into our own debates on the subject and they are both hypocritical and wrong. They are divisive in their own country and they further divisions here.