PA Gov Claims Trump Out to Stifle Dissent

PA Gov. Josh Shapiro charged that the Trump administration is “trying to stifle dissent” by wielding power to keep critics like late-night comedy host Jimmy Kimmel off the air.

His remarks, made Friday during a taping for NBC News’ Meet the Press, were a response to the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to pressure Disney-owned ABC into suspending Kimmel’s show after he had commented on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

A national debate has ensued about freedom of speech and whether President Donald Trump has the right to muzzle those who criticize him.

On Thursday, Trump said that broadcasters allowing criticism of him should “maybe lose their license,” NPR reported.

Shapiro sees peril ahead.

In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) reflects on political violence in America as thousands gather for the funeral of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — and recalls when his own home was firebombed earlier this year. https://t.co/cK0qhwTSD9 pic.twitter.com/Jk9xRPaANC

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 21, 2025

“Our foundational principle in this country, which has roots in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — William Penn settled here in the 1680s — is about freedom of expression, freedom of speech," he told NBC News. “And to see that being undermined by the long arm of the federal government is extremely dangerous.”

Shapiro added that “whether you agree with Jimmy Kimmel or not, whether you found him funny or not, to fire someone because he told a joke about the president repeatedly, and the president didn’t like it … that is dangerous.”

The full interview with Shapiro aired Sunday, but NBC News published a report on his comments Friday. Experts who work as political strategists or who study free speech, history, and the Constitution weighed in on Saturday to share their reactions.

“I’m glad Shapiro is talking about this,” said Matt Jordan, a professor of communications and a media expert at Pennsylvania State University. ”This kind of thing was one of the first actions the Nazis took in 1939.”

In February of that year, German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels fired five entertainers who had made jokes at Hitler’s expense. “They displayed a lack of any positive attitude toward National Socialism and caused grave annoyance in public and especially to party comrades,” Goebbels said, according to news reports of the day.