Elon Musk revisits Harris’ old call to ban Trump from X as she cites free speech over Kimmel suspension

WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the controversy surrounding the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, Elon Musk revisited former Vice President Kamala Harris' old call to remove Donald Trump from Twitter, implicitly defending the president.

Following Kimmel's suspension over comments on Charlie Kirk, Harris slammed the move as an abuse of power. In response, X (formerly Twitter) owner Musk revealed Harris’ years-old post to ban Trump from social media on September 19.

Kamala Harris' tweet about abuse of power

"What we are witnessing is an outright abuse of power. This administration is attacking critics and using fear as a weapon to silence anyone who would speak out.

Media corporations — from television networks to newspapers — are capitulating to these threats," Harris wrote on X about Kimmel’s suspension.

"We cannot dare to be silent or complacent in the face of this frontal assault on free speech. We, the people, deserve better."

Elon Musk calls out Kamala Harris' old post against Donald Trump

Many X users, including Musk, highlighted Harris’ hypocrisy, referencing her own statement calling for censorship with a thinking face emoji.

The tweet Musk was referring to dates back to Trump’s first tenure in 2019, when Harris was a senator representing California and was running for Vice President when she made the post. 

"Look let's be honest, @realDonaldTrump's Twitter account should be suspended," Harris wrote on September 30, 2019. 

Jimmy Kimmel's old tweet and allegations of censorship

Jimmy Kimmel’s show was pulled down after he said that conservatives were reaching a new low and claimed that the ‘MAGA gang’ was exploiting the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed on September 10. 

Many even alleged that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had a role in this suspension after its chair, Brendan Carr, threatened to cancel the broadcasting license of the ABC.

Some conservatives, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz, didn't shy away from questioning this, warning that even conservatives would regret setting this kind of precedent. 

Carr later joined Fox News on September 17, the day Kimmel was suspended, defending the move. 

"Broadcasters are different than any other form of communication," Carr said, pointing to affiliate groups like Nexstar and Sinclair that announced they would no longer carry 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' He argued that local stations acted appropriately, saying they were "standing up to serve the interests of their community." 

"Over the years, the FCC walked away from enforcing that public interest obligation," Carr said. "I don’t think we’re better off as a country for it."

Biden-Harris administration faces censorship scrutiny

The Biden-Harris administration was also not an exception when it came to censorship controversies, particularly its interactions with social media companies during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said that the Biden administration was flagging problematic posts on Facebook that spread disinformation. 

In August 2024, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed in a letter that Facebook faced censorship pressure from the Biden administration.