Longtime Disney CEO Bob Iger ― an executive once praised by the left as a reliable Democratic donor who stood up to President Donald Trump on climate and opposed Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law ― was reportedly the one to make the call on ABC “indefinitely” pulling Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show from the air on Wednesday.
Trump boisterously celebrated the decision, which came after FCC chairman Brendan Carr threatened to take action against ABC, a subsidiary of Disney, following Kimmel’s on-air comments criticizing conservatives’ reaction to Charlie Kirk’s killing. Iger and top Disney executive Dana Walden reportedly made the call to take Kimmel off the air after Nexstar Media, which owns many ABC affiliates, said it planned to preempt Kimmel’s show.
A spokesperson for Disney didn’t immediately respond when asked to comment on the decision and whether it had anything to do with Iger’s relationship with Trump, which has become increasingly friendly since the president secured a return to the White House.
The first big indication that Iger would play ball with Trump came in December, when Disney reached a settlement with the president over his defamation lawsuit targeting star ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos for his comments about Trump’s sexual abuse conviction. As part of the agreement, Disney agreed to donate $15 million to Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum, and both the network and Stephanopoulos published an apology saying they “regret” the broadcasted remarks.
The move immediately raised concerns that it would embolden Trump and his administration to act out against more news outlets, which they have ― against The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and now ABC’s Kimmel.
“If Bob Iger can’t stomach a free speech fight against Trump, can anyone?” a CNN headline read late last year. At the time, Iger notably hadn’t donated to Trump’s inaugural fund or jetted down to visit the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago, setting him apart from other big-name CEOs.
But there were other signs that Iger was shifting. After donating to Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016 and Joe Biden’s in 2020, regulatory filings uncovered by Puck revealed that Iger didn’t donate to Kamala Harris (or Trump) during last year’s election.
The past few months have all but confirmed Iger’s willingness to keep things friendly with Trump as he wages war against the media.
In February, Iger’s Disney announced it was scaling back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. That included discontinuing its Reimagine Tomorrow initiative, which was designed to showcase stories from underrepresented communities. Sources also told Axios at the time that Disney+, the company’s streaming service, was softening a content advisory it had added at the beginning of older films with racist or other offensive content.
Those changes were viewed as a “capitulation” to Trump, who’s maligned such workplace initiatives, employees told Deadline at the time.
Then in May, Trump revealed that Iger visited him at the Oval Office to present plans for a theme park in Abu Dhabi.
“Bob Iger was in my office the other day and he was showing it to me and it’s going to be incredible,” Trump said.
If Iger’s hoping to lure in more of Trump’s base, he’s already on track. An Axios poll found that in 2024, Disney’s reputation score among Republicans jumped more than six points from the year prior.