Is this real? Suddenly, even Jimmy Kimmel loves Texas’ Ted Cruz | Opinion
Written off as a late-night TV punchline, Sen. Ted Cruz is suddenly a national celebrity again.
Maybe fate turned his way when he was on hand to watch Texas A&M beat Notre Dame. That broke sports’ dreaded “Ted Cruz jinx.”
Then the strangest thing happened.
A federal official threatened broadcasters if they didn’t drop ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show.
Instead of silently going along, Cruz spoke up.
When other Republicans were reluctant to buck President Donald Trump, Cruz said on his best-in-class “Verdict” podcast that Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr was acting like a “mafioso.”
By midweek, Kimmel was back on the air snarking on Trump, and thanking the handful of Republicans, including Cruz, who spoke up.
“I don’t think I’ve ever said this before,” Kimmel said in his return Tuesday night, “but Ted Cruz is right.”
Cruz had simply expressed constitutional conservatives’ argument against oppressive government.
It just so happened that a populist faction in his own party runs the oppressive government.
“It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, yeah, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it,” Cruz told his 1.5 million monthly podcast listeners for Premiere Networks and Texas radio giant iHeartMedia.
Cruz is 25 years younger than Trump. So Cruz can see a day when the pendulum of politics might swing the opposite direction.
Trump responded that Carr is a “great American patriot.”
“I think Brendan Carr doesn’t like to see the airwaves be used illegal and incorrectly and purposefully horribly,” Trump said.
He did not say how criticizing a president can be “incorrect” or “horrible.”
Carr, originally an FCC lawyer, had told Florida-based podcaster Benny Johnson, formerly of Glenn Beck’s Irving-based network The Blaze, that ABC stations are licensed by the government to broadcast in the public interest.
Literally, American broadcast law is based on the principle that the air belongs to the people, so over-the-air radio and television must uphold certain standards and show public responsibility.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said, invoking an old saying that implies power and pressure. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
When ABC suspended Kimmel at first — the network never dropped the show — Carr responded childishly online with a popular GIF showing characters from “The Office” celebrating.
At a speech Monday in New York, Carr explained: “When it comes with social media, we want wide-open, robust, uninhibited debate — very similar on cable. But broadcast TV is just different.”
In other words, there should be no debating the government on broadcast TV.
That flies in the face of free enterprise and free-market principles, if not freedom of speech and dissent.
Even comedian Jon Stewart, sort of the grand poobah of political comedy from his 16-year run on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” found the words to praise Cruz.
“It gives me no pleasure to have to play this,” he said, introducing a clip from Cruz’s podcast.
It was “fantastic,” he said — “Senator Ted Cruz boldly stating that the FCC chairman threatening the licenses of networks is dangerous. And Senator Cruz, I would just say, uh, maybe you should stop there. ... Perfect. No notes.”
Comedians praising Ted Cruz?
You’d think Cancún had frozen over.
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 11:38 AM.
