MAGA and President Trump promised revenge for the assassination of Charlie Kirk and it has already started.

Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel has followed Stephen Colbert into the laughter wilderness after being “suspended indefinitely” by ABC hours following a comment from  Brendan Carr, chairman of the broadcasting regulator agency the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that the commission would take action against the network for Kimmel’s comments.

Kimmel made the mistake of criticising MAGA and the president for blaming left-wing radicals for the assassination of Kirk when, said Kimmel, it was more likely to have been a right-wing terrorist.

ABC refused to say that the “indefinite suspension” was related to Kimmel’s comments, but the juxtaposition of events is undeniable.

After the sacking, Carr said that Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were part of a “concerted effort to lie to the American people, “and that the FCC was “going to have remedies that we can look at.”

“Frankly, when you see stuff like this — I mean, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” He added: “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly…or there’s going to be additional work for the F.C.C. ahead.”

Trump simply said of Kimmel’s departure: “Great News for America” and called for the dismissal of two more late show comics—Jimmy Fallon and Set Myers. The Democrats have condemned the sacking as an “attack on freedom of speech and democracy.”

Money talks in America and Kimmel’s departure is almost certainly linked to a planned multi-billion dollar involving the distributing channels. The controversial merger would have created a monopoly which needed the approval of Brendan Carr and the FCC.

Jimmy Kimmel’s is not a lone target. President Trump is suing the New York Times for $15 billion and Trump-supporting tech tycoon Larry Ellison is bidding for CNN. Carr has made it clear that any liberal-leaning broadcaster—radio or television—is in his sights. Every eight years broadcasters have to renew their license. Usually this is a pro forma exercise but the FCC can deny a license if it “fails to serve the public interest”. Carr maintains that he determines what the “public interest” is. So far, however, he has not revoked a broadcasting license.

There was no suggestion by Carr or anyone in the Trump Administration about the suitability of Fox News’s license when Fox host Brian Kilmeade said that mentally ill homeless people should be given lethal injections. “Just kill them,” he added.

The media are not the only likely MAGA targets. The Trump Administration is now talking about “going after” the multi-billion dollar liberal-leaning philanthropic organisations that help finance liberal causes. Specifically, they want action against the Ford Foundation and George Soros’s Open Society Foundation.

The Ford Foundation is endowed to the tune of $16 billion and in 2023 dished out grants totalling $918 million. Its money went to causes that MAGA loves to hate such as migrant rights, gender equality, civil rights, press freedom and LGBTQ+ rights and fighting climate change.

The Open Society Foundation is even richer. Founded in 1992 by the Hungarian currency speculator George Soros, its assets top $32 billion. The foundation’s grants in 2023 totalled $1.7 billion. The Open Society is a bit more international. Its headquarters are in New York but it operates in 100 countries and is firmly committed to promoting globalisation, free trade, democracy, anti-corruption campaigns, a free press and “the rule of law around the world.” 95-year-old George Soros is a figure of hate for conservatives globally.

Theoretically, philanthropic organisations are protected by the US constitution’s free speech provisions in the First Amendment. But—as with most things—there may be a work around—audits by the Internal Revenue Service.

There is a sort of precedent from the Obama Administration when organisations linked to the conservative Tea Party were subjected to an audit which had a damaging effect on Tea Party activities. Republicans tried to link Barack Obama to the audit but failed. It turned out that it was politically motivated, but that the politics were limited to the Cincinnati office of the Internal Revenue Service and the IRS paid damages of $3.5 million. The precedent, however, was set.

George Soros’s Open Society may be open to attack under America’s Foreign Agents Registration Act. The thinking is simple. Open Society is not registered as a foreign agent. The Act requires individuals and/or organisations to register as foreign agents if they are under the control or directed by a foreigner. George Soros is Hungarian.

* Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice. He also contributes to “The New World” magazine and lectures on world affairs. He is the author of “America Made in Britain,” two editions of “The Encyclopaedia of the Cold War” and “The Falklands Crisis.”