This Week in Democracy – Week 67: Trump Wants Kimmel Fired and Comey in Prison. Again
Zeteo's weekly round-up, documenting the growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
This week, we saw the Trump playbook rear its head once again after an alleged gunman breached a security checkpoint at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ dinner: Attack the left in the most shameless of ways.
Not only did Donald Trump and his cronies immediately blame Democrats, comedians, and anyone else on the left, seemingly forgetting their King Donald is the most verbally abusive, name-calling, and violence-inciting politician in modern history, but they also used the alleged assassination attempt to market … Trump’s White House ballroom!
It was not a good week for American democracy – for free speech, for voting rights, for press freedom.
From moving to deny pro-Palestine immigrants green cards, to demanding the firing of Jimmy Kimmel, indicting James Comey, to gutting a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, here’s just a taste of what Trump and his allies did this week that hurt democracy, undermined the Constitution, and harmed societies worldwide:
Saturday, April 25 – You Might Not Get a Green Card If You’re Pro-Palestine
In new guidance issued by the Trump administration, criticizing Israel or participating in pro-Palestine campus protests could disqualify green card applicants, the New York Times reported.
The guidance also discourages approving green cards for applicants who have a history of “endorsing, promoting, or supporting anti-American views,” including “holding a sign advocating overthrow of the US government.”
Sunday, April 26 – Trump Attacks CBS Journalist in Highly Edited Interview
During an interview on ‘60 Minutes,’ Trump lashed out at journalist Norah O’Donnell, calling her “a disgrace” and saying she “should be ashamed” of herself after she read an excerpt from a so-called manifesto written by the alleged gunman who tried to breach security at the White House correspondents’ dinner the previous evening.
The interview was also the subject of several significant edits, which is noteworthy considering CBS settled a lawsuit with Trump for editing a 2024 interview with Kamala Harris.
Monday, April 27 – Donald and Melania Call for Jimmy Kimmel to Be Fired
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump called for Disney and ABC to fire late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel over a video where he jokingly called Melania an “expectant widow.” Trump ridiculously called the joke a “despicable call to violence.”
In response, FCC Chair Brendan Carr seemingly threatened ABC affiliates, saying, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” when it comes to “tak[ing action on Kimmel.” Later, the FCC launched a review of Disney’s broadcast licenses years ahead of schedule.
Tuesday, April 28 – Trump’s DOJ Indicts Comey…Again
Trump’s Justice Department once again indicted former FBI Director James Comey, this time over a 2025 Instagram post of seashells depicting the numbers “86” and “47.” In the restaurant industry, “86” means an item isn’t available, and Trump is the 47th US president. But the DOJ ridiculously alleges the post was meant as a “threat to kill the president.”
In a video response, Comey said he is innocent of the charges, which some legal experts believe he could try to have dismissed on the grounds of “vindictive prosecution.”
Later, Bloomberg reported that the DOJ is pursuing more charges against Comey for allegedly leaking classified information.
Wednesday, April 29 – Supreme Court Guts Voting Rights Act
In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court effectively weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that has prohibited racial discrimination in voting for six decades. The move will allow Republicans to redraw their congressional maps in the South, potentially netting the GOP 19 additional seats in the House compared to 2024 maps, and could lead to the largest drop in Black representation in Congress ever.
The three Democratic justices dissented, with Justice Elena Kagan writing that the decision renders the provision “all but a dead letter,” and warned that the consequences of the ruling will likely be “far-reaching and grave.”
Thursday, April 30 – Louisiana’s Congressional Primaries Suspended After Supreme Court Ruling
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed an executive order to suspend the state’s congressional primaries just two days before early voting was scheduled to begin, citing Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling, which struck down a majority Black congressional district.
The order postponed the congressional primaries until either July 15 or a new date set by the legislature. State Republican leaders have said they are planning to pass new congressional maps.
Friday, May 1 – Trump Admin Diverted One-Quarter of FBI Personnel to Immigration
The Intercept reported that thousands of FBI employees were diverted from criminal investigations and public safety to civil immigration enforcement during the first nine months of the second Trump administration.
Nearly 9,200 FBI personnel – almost 25% of the agency’s entire workforce – worked on “immigration-related matters” during that time period, marking a staggering increase from the 279 employees assigned to immigration before Trump took office.
Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up here. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:
Of real interest.