On his show on Tuesday, Kimmel said: “We had some new lows over the weekend with the Maga gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it”.
Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Kirk’s shooting, does not appear to be ideologically conservative or a supporter of United States President Donald Trump.
According to charging documents from prosecutors released earlier, Robinson sent a message to his roommate that he “had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred”.
Kimmel’s contract with ABC was set to expire next year, and there was speculation about whether it would be renewed, particularly after the announcement in July that CBS owner Paramount would cancel its top-rated late-night show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr criticised Kimmel earlier today, suggesting the federal agency could pull broadcast licences owned by parent company Disney.
Licences are given to local stations, not networks, and revocations are extremely rare.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr told conservative podcast host Benny Johnson.
“These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Carr said he could “certainly see a path forward for suspension” for Kimmel at the network, something the FCC would have no involvement in.
Carr has also previously criticised the ABC show The View.
The decision by ABC is likely to be seen as a concession to network critics.
In December, the company agreed to put US$15 million towards Trump’s presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit.